Back To You
by Cora Sinclair
Summary: Betty is being suffocated by her father. Bruce feels out of place because of the Other Guy. Ross is nursing a grudge against Bruce. He's a determined man and the lengths he will go to have Bruce are endless. Of course, Ross didn't count on the Avengers protecting their own.
1. No Matter Where You Are

Author's Note: I don't own any of these marvelous characters. Also, I hate myself, I hate myself, and I hate myself. I told myself that this wasn't going to be a serious fic. Damn it, I swore to myself that I would not get involved….and yet here I am, rewriting this damn story because my brain is not satisfied with it.

* * *

Chapter One: No Matter Where You Are

Elizabeth "Betty" Ross was having, what she deemed, the worst day of her life. It was worse than that one time in the ninth grade when she kissing her then crush and their braces intertwined. It was worse than the time when she had forgotten to save her dissertation and accidently deleted it the day it was due. It was even worse than the day when she had accidently gotten hit by a car.

This day, May 11th, was arguably worse than the day her boyfriend, Bruce Banner, turned into a giant green rage monster and disappeared from her life.

Upon further reflection, she took that back. That day had been bad, unfortunate even for everyone involved especially for Bruce, but this day was a day that would live infamy. She toyed with the diamond ring on her finger. The damn thing felt like it was cutting off her circulation.

It wasn't too late to back out yet, was it?

Then the music started to play. Why her? Why now? What she wouldn't give to have the church spontaneously combust. The wedding march, it sounded more like the funeral march to her, was playing an on old pipe organ. She did not get up; she was too numb to move her legs. The disapproving cough of her father, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, alerted her that it was now time to move. Reluctantly, Betty got up.

"You look beautiful." He said gruffly.

If she actually had a healthy relationship with her father, that might have meant something to her.

"Thanks." Was her mindlessly reply. She had been like this for a while, mindless. The once brilliant cell biologist had been reduced to a puppet. At this point in her life, Betty was going through the motions of basic human interaction. She got up, got ready for work, said "hello" to everyone who she knew, and she lived-no. No, no, no that wasn't right. She didn't live anymore. Living implied that she enjoyed life and she didn't.

And now she was getting _fucking_ married.

God damn it. They were closer to the alter now.

How the hell did this happen? When did her life take such a nosedive that jumping into a rushed marriage counted as an escape? Betty shook her head ruefully, slightly messing up her veil. Oh yeah, when her father's annoying little soldiers wouldn't stop stalking her. Why? Because of some stupid nonsense about Bruce being a "dangerous biological weapon" and he might come back and do God knows what to her. He wasn't dangerous, she knew that. When she was being tackled to the ground by soldiers, when daddy dearest nearly got her killed, Bruce had protected her. He loved her. It's at that thought she tears up a little. He loved her and she had no idea where he was.

They were at the alter now.

_Was Bruce dead?_

She was the bride.

_Was Bruce hurt_?

Glenn Talbot was the groom.

_Was Bruce dying somewhere in some god forsaken third world country?_

Glenn had proposed to her only after a month of meeting her.

_God, she hoped Bruce was okay._

It looked good for Glen to be marrying the daughter of a respected general.

_Did Bruce think about her at all? Wherever he was?_

The ceremony goes by in the blink of an eye and the words "I do" mechanically tumble out of her mouth.

_Why couldn't it have been Bruce that she was now kissing?_

Kissing Glenn was like kissing a brick wall. It was rough, hard, and devoid of all passion.

* * *

The reception isn't much better than the wedding. The father-daughter dance is hell. Her father twirls her around on the dance floor as some gushy sappy over the top song plays in the background. Her father is dressed in his military best and she's wearing her mother's wedding dress. He's trying to smile at her, he tells her that she looks beautiful and that her mother-how _dare_ he bring mom up-would be so proud to see her marrying the right guy. It all goes in one ear and out the other. She can't stop thinking about Bruce.

"It's your wedding day." Ross snaps at her. "Would it kill you to smile?"

A range of snappy and sarcastic replies come to her mind and all of them are followed up by verbally tearing down her father for ruining Bruce's life and making her a prisoner but all she can say is, "Would it kill you to stop stepping on my shoes?" He looks down and sees that he is in fact standing on her shoes. General Ross was a man of many things but a dancer was not one of them.

"You shouldn't have worn open toed shoes." Is his way of saying sorry.

"Hmm…" She checks out as the dance goes on. Her mind wanders back to Bruce and just wondering if he was okay. It's the not knowing that gets her. Her heart manages to drop into her stomach just thinking about what Bruce could be going through. He's a scientist, not a fighter. He doesn't like violence, he sure as hell doesn't want to hurt people, and most importantly he doesn't want his curse to be used to create more of him.

And yet, her father, the military, and the pentagon go the most extreme lengths to weaponized the Hulk. Never mind that they have seen what happens when the serum works, aka Captain America, and what happens when it goes bad, Blonsky, but what happens when the serum works in a half assed way, Bruce. You don't have to be a scientist to know that the risks outweigh the rewards. It goes beyond logic for her to see why anyone would want to replicate the serum. She settles on thinking that the military, pentagon, and whoever the hell is in charge has spent too much money to say that the super soldier serum is a failure.

Her blood boils and, suddenly, she realizes that she's not dancing with her father anymore. She's dancing with Talbot. He's an okay guy, he's nowhere near as nice as Leonard or Bruce, but on the bright side, he knows that the marriage is a sham. It's out of convenience for both of them. She gets daddy's trained stalkers off her back and Talbot gets some nice military contracts.

"Our song is playing." He whispers in her ear, trying to emulate how a newlywed husband might say to his bride.

It might be "their song" but she has no idea what it is. She didn't plan the wedding, it was all her dad and his people. She just showed up wearing the dress. It's a bouncing little song, pretty catchy too. Betty is sure that she's heard it somewhere before. It's not half bad and she has the oddest feeling that the song will be stuck in her head for days on end afterwards.

Talbot leans in for a kiss as the dance finally ends and she begrudgingly complies. For a second, she's able to imagine that it's Bruce kissing her and everything is perfect…but only for that second. She's then hit with the cruel reality that Bruce is a million miles away and here she is married to some guy out of convenience and that he's among the hundreds of people who would like nothing more to have Bruce strapped to an operating table and cut out whatever makes him green.

Between wanting Bruce to stay safe, to wanting him to be next to her, and to hold him again, she feels like she's being pulled in a million different directions and about to reach her breaking point. She tears up again and buries her face into Talbot's chest, all the while managing to fake perfectly the image of the happy content bride with her husband. What she wouldn't give to be with Bruce right now. Her sorrow is placated with the idea that wherever Bruce is, whether it's some third world country or down the street, that he is safe. Her father still fumes that tracking Bruce has all led to dead ends and that no one seems to be able to pin him down. That thought alone is enough to get her through the reception and through the rest of the night.

* * *

She might be a married woman but she and Talbot don't live together. Now that she thinks about it, she doesn't even know where he lives. They've always met up by chance or at her father's office.

"Whatever..." Betty sweeps her apartment for any of her father's nasty listening devices. It's part of her nightly routine. After she gets home, she looks for bugs and then she destroys them. Last night it was with the blender on high, the night before that she tossed them down the garbage disposal, and the night after that she had ran over the bugs with her car.

Betty checks the normal places, under her bed, behind her television, in her plants and finds nothing. That's not too strange. The tech guys who install the bugs have been getting better at hiding them as of late. It's almost like a game between them and her. Betty won't ever admit it but it is sort of fun even if they do invade her privacy on a daily basis.

The windows are clean, there are no devices on her ceiling fan or in the vents either. She's getting slightly frustrated. The tech guys have never been this good before. The longest it's ever taken her find all the damn bugs is half an hour. It's been an hour. It's not until after she double checks her phone and the horribly fake ivy plant in her living room does she give up.

She kicks off her shoes and shimmies out of her dress, letting it drop to the floor before she collapses onto her bed. That's when she sees it. The tech guys hid it in her lights. She'll give them points for this one. Grabbing her ladder, she makes the climb and successfully gets the listening device. There's something else in the lights besides the bug. It's a card.

"Congrats on your nuptials…" Betty reads out loud, "…but you married an idiot."

On the inside of the card, there's a pretty good doodle of Talbot being smashed by a certain green monster and her heart flutters. The Hulk has the most unlikely of fans. She revels in the idea of her father having a stroke with the idea that his soldiers are fond of Bruce's alter ego.

"With much love, your personal stalkers."

She ignores that tiny twinge in her heart that the only real relationship that she has is with her stalkers. Oh, she needed help, she needed lots of help. How much does therapy cost again?

"Thanks guys." She says even though she knows that they aren't allowed respond back.

Betty pulls the covers over her head. She feels a little bit better now that the day is gone.

"Goodnight Bruce. I love you…"

* * *

Author's Note: Guess who's going to try to incorporate the comics, the movies, and other aspects of the Hulk franchise into one? That's right me…hooray…anyway let me know what you think. Criticism is always deeply appreciated. Updates will occur every Sunday morning.


	2. Pumped Up Kicks

Author's Note: Here is chapter two and it will be Bruce centric. It's kinda Science Boyfriends if you squint or GreenPepper if you like that pairing.

* * *

Chapter Two: Pumped Up Kicks

* * *

Between fighting off aliens, keeping up his relationship with Pepper, and simultaneously creating new ways to have clean energy, Tony Stark allows himself a moment of reflection in his lab. Next to him, reading a rather large tomb on radiation, is Bruce Banner. It's been a month since "Loki went crazy-holy hell what is attacking New York now? Avengers Assemble!" and Bruce took Tony up on his offer to come work for him. Privately, Tony never thought that Bruce would stay around as long as he has.

Bruce, by nature, is fidgety. He always looks for possible exits, all the different ways he can escape should the worst happen. Tony really doesn't want to think what Bruce has been through to make looking for exits a normal thing. He knows that he can easily hack into SHEILD's database and find out but Bruce trusts him and Tony doesn't want to lose that. So, he waits, patiently, for the day when Bruce is comfortable enough to tell him.

Anyway, there is Bruce in the lab with him, positively devouring the book. Tony is bored. Being in the lab is more fun when Bruce is talking to him. He picks up his screwdriver and, naturally, pokes Bruce in his side.

"Ow!" Bruce turns his head to see who is lovingly assaulting him. He sees Tony with his trusty screwdriver. He's not impressed. "We need to find an outlet for you."

"I'm booorrrrreeeed." He makes it last, enjoying the brief flash of annoyance that goes on Bruce's face.

"Is Ms. Potts back yet?" Bruce asks, hoping that his friend's girlfriend might make Tony less bored.

"She's not due back until tonight." Tony replies and then he adds, "And call her Pepper."

Bruce looks ashamed, something that he's quite good at doing, and he mumbles some nonsense about how he doesn't know her well enough to call her by her first name. It's been a month. He's got his own room in the Tower and Pepper, God bless her, she has taken the weirdness that is the Avengers Initiative in her stride. Everyone else calls Pepper by her first name. Bruce is the only person left to hesitate to be informal with her.

There it is again.

He looked for the possible exits _again_.

* * *

Pepper Potts is a miracle worker. She can do anything and she can handle anything. She has to be. She does work for Tony Stark after all. However, after an exhausting week in Miami, she is finally home and ready to put up her feet. As she sleepily makes her way up the Avengers Tower, so lovingly christened by Tony, she is greeted by JARVIS.

"_Good evening Ms. Potts_." JARVIS' cool tone is refreshing after putting out fires all week. "_I trust that you had an excellent flight?_"

"It was something else." She tiredly says, trying to stifle a yawn at the same time. "Where is Tony?"

"_Mr. Stark is in his lab. He has been alerted to your arrival_."

"Good. Can you let me off at the kitchen please?" She hadn't eaten anything since the plane left the tarmac.

"_Of course, Ms. Potts_."

The elevator slows to a stop. It is unnaturally dim in the kitchen and it sets off alarms. Her mind goes to the worst case scenario. The worst is that someone has broken into the Tower, Justin Hammer, or someone else that Tony or one of the Avengers has managed to piss off. The least worrisome thing she can think of is that the lights are going out. She scowls. It's never anything that innocent. When she reaches the counter, she's already tightened the grip on the heavy files.

This doesn't feel right.

And then something taps her shoulder and she reacts. She swings her files down on whoever was behind her. There is the sound of glass breaking and a whimper of pain. Her eyes adjust from the lack of light. It's not some burglar or a powered up person with a vendetta against Tony or the Avengers but a startled Bruce Banner who's glasses are now broken thanks to her.

"Oh Bruce!" She gasps and then notices the tiny bit of blood going down his cheek from the broken glass. "I'm sorry. I didn't-" Instinctively, he backs away from her touch.

"It's okay." He sounds just as guilty as she does. "I shouldn't have scared you. I'm sorry." He takes his broken glasses off.

"Are you alright?" Pepper asks. Her eyes keep on the cut on his cheek.

"Oh yeah, I'm okay." It's the nervous smile he gives her that manages to make her feel even more guilty. "It takes a lot to hurt me." He toys with his broken glasses and her heart breaks a bit. It's not right that he's so okay with being hurt.

"I'll get you a new pair." Pepper says immediately.

"Thank you but it's fine. I've got a backup pair incase…you know…" He avoids eye contact, "I Hulk out."

"Oh…" She wishes she could say something meaningful to him. Bruce nervously smiles again, welcomes her home, and then he quickly leaves to go get his backup pair from his room.

"JARVIS? What was Bruce doing in the dark?" She asks quietly.

"_Dr. Banner was in the middle of cooking dinner when he felt unwell_."

"Dinner?" That's when she sees the pot of boiling water with pasta in it.

"_Yes, Dr. Banner thought that you might prefer to have a home cooked dinner instead of takeout. He was resting from a headache that he received early this evening, Ms. Potts_." JARVIS politely informed her.

She feels very small as she picks up the fallen papers.

* * *

Dinner is an awkward affair. Bruce is quieter than he normally is and Pepper can barely look up from her plate. Tony is the only normal person, as far as normal goes, at the dinner table but he quickly picks up on everyone's general anxiety.

"Did I miss something here?" Subtly has never been of Tony's strong suits. "Is there a bomb underneath the table that I don't know about?" He checks underneath the table and the lack of bomb makes him think that there's something else going on.

"No Tony." Bruce says softly. "Everything's okay." He stands up and puts his plate in the dishwasher. "I'm feeling a little sick. I think I'll head to bed. Goodnight." And Bruce is gone. In five sentences, he is out of the dining room and in the elevator. Pepper lets out a sigh of relief which is then quickly replaced by guilt.

"Pep?" Tony's voice is uncharacteristically quiet. "Everything okay?"

"Huh? Yeah…"

"Was it the board again? Because if they were pushing about reinstating the-"

"I hit Bruce." She spills and she almost feels better. Tony, on the other hand, is shocked.

"What?" He rubs his ears, "Sorry, didn't catch that. What?"

"I came home and I didn't see Bruce…" She trails off uncomfortably. "I accidentally hit him and broke his glasses." Of course, Tony didn't see the cut at dinner. Bruce's healing factor is amazing. What one cut can take a week to heal, only takes Bruce a couple of minutes.

"Wow…"

"Tony don't…" She says in a warning tone. She doesn't want to hear a snarky remark but she falls silent. "He looked like a kicked puppy."

Tony runs a hand through his hair, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that it's Bruce's default expression."

* * *

The overall awkwardness has ebbed away when morning comes. Tony, ever the insomniac, has managed to fall asleep. He's still curled up in the bedroom by the time Pepper gets up and dressed.

"_Good morning, Ms. Potts_."

"Good morning, JARVIS."

"_Dr. Banner is awake and in the kitchen_."

"Oh, okay. Thank you, JARVIS."

"_My pleasure, Ms. Potts. I live to serve_."

Bruce is indeed awake but he looks horrible. He's hunched over at the counter, picking away at his toast. The dark circles under his eyes make it well known to her that Bruce has not slept at all last night.

"Good morning, Bruce." She smiles warmly at him.

"Morning." He mumbles tiredly. Bruce practically radiates sick and tired. She wonders how long he's been feeling like this.

"Did you sleep okay?" She asks tentatively.

He nods and goes back to picking apart his unappealing breakfast. She helps herself to a more appetizing breakfast of oatmeal and apple slices.

"Pepper?" Her heart soars. Bruce is finally calling her by her first name.

"Yes?" She tries not to sound too overjoyed. It shouldn't be such a big deal but it is. She's just so happy that he feels comfortable enough to refer to her by her first name.

"If I make you feel uncomfortable, I can leave."

Oh look, there's her heart! On the floor. In a million pieces. Maybe DUM-E can pick them up later with the vacuum.

"What?" She doesn't know what he's saying.

"If you don't feel safe, I can leave." He sounds so ashamed and guilty even though he has no reason to be. "It wouldn't be a problem." Pepper is stunned as Bruce continues, "Having the Other Guy here can't be easy for you. I can leave."

He was ready to go. He always had been. Being a fugitive for the past two years made him ready to pick up and leave at the first sign of danger or, in this case, when others were afraid of him. India was nice this time of the year. It wouldn't be too hard to get back into his previous lifestyle. Bruce did have to admit that he would miss having a bed to sleep in, running water, and great food but he couldn't continue living here if he kept the most important person in Tony's world afraid.

"If you leave, I'm having Tony track you down, and bring you back." Pepper says before she realizes that the words have left her mouth.

Bruce looks adorably confused. The idea that people want him around, that they aren't scared of him even when they know what he is, is unheard of. The only other person who wanted him around was…Betty…Oh, his heart aches thinking about her. Not a day goes by when he doesn't think about contacting her but after two years? Would she even want to see him? Who was he kidding? She probably hates him.

"I know that you haven't been Mr. Popular but this is your home." Bruce gets visibly misty eyed at the word "home." "You belong here."

"But, last night-"

She shook her head. "It was a rough night. It was a rough week, really. Tony's been closing down the last of the research and development for weapons. The board isn't too happy with the predicted loss of profit. We'll make it up in a year or so but no one wants to take a smaller paycheck." She shrugged her shoulders. "Bruce, please, don't leave."

"I…" He doesn't know what to say. "I've never been in one place for so long."

"Will you stay?"

Bruce meekly nods and Pepper puts this battle in the win column.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Have a lovely day.


	3. Beauty and the Beast

Author's Note: Guess who still doesn't own Marvel? Me, that's who. Anyway, I owe you guys an apology. This past Sunday, my old laptop died on me. So I apologize for not updating but here is the chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter Three: Beauty and the Beast

* * *

Betty has never been a particularly religious person but right now, she believes in karma. Why? Because she must have been a real bitch to someone to get stuck with Glenn Talbot at a military fundraiser. It's painful. It's not because of the setting, the military base is lovely. It's not because of the dress, she's wearing a green ball gown in honor of Bruce. What makes this whole debacle painful is when Talbot is introducing them to other people.

"This is Elizabeth Ross, my wife." He graces a significantly older couple with his/their presence.

The older couple's eyes widen in shock. Ross. She was Elizabeth Ross. They don't care that her father is one General Ross but the fact that she is _the_ Elizabeth Ross, the poor girl who was attacked and kidnapped by a green monster who had killed men and yet she somehow survived. Most of the people who she meets expect her to be this frail, shaking person ready to fall to pieces at the drop of the hat.

"You poor girl." The husband, he's military, purely by the way he stands. His wife looks like she wants to hug her. Privately, Betty hopes that the older woman doesn't. There was nothing more irritating or disturbing when strangers came up to hug/touch you for emotional and physical trauma that never happened.

It's hard not to feel so out of place. She knows she doesn't belong here. These aren't her type of people. She doesn't care about the next big bomb or the latest weaponry. She'd rather be at home in her pajamas doing research on the couch.

"How'd you survive the beast?"

Sure enough, damn it, a crowd starts to gather. They all want to hear the story of how the General's beautiful daughter was kidnapped and traumatized by a great green hulking beast. Since when did her life turn into a fairytale?

"Oh well…um…." She's fought this battle before and she has lost every single time. She knows Bruce isn't a monster, and most of the public is with her on this, but with a military crowd? To them, Bruce is a rogue experiment who needs to be put in a cage, or worse if her father gets his way. Betty doesn't know how many times she's woken up in the middle of the night because she had a nightmare where Bruce is once again strapped down to an operating table. She considers playing into their hands but what good would that do? The people here already think of Bruce as a monster, nothing she says will ever change that.

"It's a long story." She says softly. "I wouldn't want to bore you." She hopes that they'll get the hint and move on. She isn't here to spread mindless gossip. She's here to do some hacking which probably qualifies as some form of terrorism. Oh well, she's already broken a number of laws when she was with Bruce. What the hell, why not add cyber-terrorism to the list?

"Go on, honey." Talbot urges her with a gentle nudge. "Tell the story."

Well fuck you too, Talbot.

"I don't really want to." All those eyes are on her. She wished that she could disappear on the spot. They still stare at her like she's an animal. Betty takes a sip of her drink. She drums her fingers against the cold glass. The crowd staring at her feels like it could swallow her whole. Betty finally gives into the pressure.

"It was a dark and stormy day." She begins, her voice soft and low. "We had no idea what we were doing."

It isn't a lie, excluding the weather. She and Bruce really didn't have any idea on what they were doing. They thought that they were going to save people, not create weapons. Who would have thought that lying would have had such terrible results when gamma radiation was involved?

"There was a freak accident." She can see flashes of that day go through her mind. When she's alone, she sometimes wonders if there was anything she could do to change things. "Maybe it was a blown fuse, a technological failure, a fault with the research but _something_ happened." She can see it now. Bruce is sitting in that damn chair. He winks at her and smiles and she can't help but smile back at him. Then _it_ happens. It's too real for her. All she can see is Bruce screaming out in pain. He's starting to turn green and then people are screaming and running for their lives…

She can't do this anymore.

"Why don't you finish the story, honey?" She asks in a sickening sweet tone. "You're so much better at telling it than I am and you know how much it…" she glances at her audience, catching their attention. "…disturbs me…"

"But of course, my kitten."

Her skin is crawling. Her skin is crawling. Her skin is crawling but she doesn't make a show of it. Betty bows out of the circle of onlookers and gossipers and quietly disappears down the base's endless halls. It isn't long before she finds the command center. Effortlessly sneaking in, Betty goes to work.

She's had two long years of hacking and encryption practice to outmaneuver those pesky military firewalls. She deletes the security footage of her walking away from the party. She's got fifteen minutes before they go back up. In a few seconds, she's in and every dirty secret and file that the military and pentagon has is her's. She's not interested the shady dealings with foreign countries or suspicious arms deals, she thought that Stark Industries was out of the weapons game (Guess Stark's go green attitude was a lie), no, what she's interested in is Bruce.

That's all she's looking for.

The pentagon and SHIELD share files. There's nothing too major. It's the basic rundown of projects and who's involved with what. The Avengers Initiative file is the tiniest out of all and Betty is horrified at what she finds. There's six people intimately involved with the project. There are no names, only codenames.

No surprise to find Tony Stark in the middle of it, Stark has got his fingers in practically everything that the military does. Betty has read enough about him in the papers to know that Stark has got a self-destructive ego about a mile wide. He's volatile and being so close to the military, Betty hopes that Bruce is far away from him.

Next it's Captain America, the golden son. He's a war hero and you can't think of him without thinking of baseball and mom's homemade apple pie. Much of his file has been redacted beyond comprehension. The jury is still out on if he's all that the comics make him out to be.

The Avengers Initiative file gets worse from here on out.

Someone thought that it was a good idea to put two assassins on the list. They are the infamous Black Widow and Hawkeye who have killed more men far stronger than Bruce and for less money. They are exactly the kind of people that her father would hire to track Bruce down and put an arrow between his eyes.

"Oh Bruce…what have you gotten yourself into?"

The last member is a man by the name of Thor who looks like he has been ripped from the cover of a cheesy romance novel. All that's in his file his that he has a hammer and he can take on Bruce when he has Hulked out.

Bruce's file is practically a blank. There's more black than words. It's got his name, age, and date of birth. Wherever he is, SHIELD doesn't know or isn't sharing. She doesn't know whether to be grateful or to panic. SHIELD, Big Brother incarnate, has got more resources and power than the pentagon could ever dream of and Bruce is in the thick of it.

This isn't good.

* * *

He was supposed to be on vacation. He was supposed to be relaxing from being on the brink of death but the second his phone goes off, he stops his vacation and goes into agent mode.

"Coulson?" It's agent Hill and the tone of her voice, makes him think that Loki is back. "We got a problem."

It wasn't like he was enjoying Tahiti that much anyway. "What's wrong?"

"We've been hacked."

"Stark?" He asks, knowing that Tony can't resist digging into SHIELD's classified files.

"The hacker is crude." Agent Hill informs him, "He doesn't have any of Stark's flair."

He's already wrapping up his blanket, packing up the sunscreen, and walking away from the sunny beach he was lying on. Time to go to work.

"I'll be on the first plane out."

"I've already sent a plane to you. It'll be on the tarmac in twenty minutes. Can you be ready by then?"

"I'm putting on my tie as we speak."

"It's good to have you back, Phil." It sounds like she's smiling.

"Good to be back, Maria." He smiles too.

* * *

When she returns to the party, after thoroughly scrubbing the computer clean, she's just in time to catch the last bit of her and Bruce's story being dramatically told.

"Betty is screaming!" Talbot has the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. They look on in awe as Talbot reenacts it all. It's no wonder that he's able to get his contracts. "The Hulk has her in his grasp and she is helpless to escape from him." The man could sell ice to eskimos. "He could easily crush her to death and not care. He's a monster and-" Betty zones out. She can't stand to hear any more of it. Like a ghost, she leaves the fundraiser and hails a cab.

Inside the cab, she plays with her wedding ring. Her mind travels back to that damn day. She can't help but think that if things hadn't gone the way they did, would she and Bruce be together? She never wanted the house with the white picket fence or the2.5 kids but she did want Bruce.

She takes off her wedding ring and places it in her purse. It does her no good to think of what might have been.

Coulson is impressed and that's not something that happens often. The hacker, whoever he/she is, managed to gain access to their files during a very busy party. He's on call with Hill.

"Do we have any surveillance from the base?"

"Negative. They are reluctant to share with us." Translation? They're embarrassed about the hack and they want to handle it on their own terms.

"Hmp, are we compromised?"

"It's nothing that we can't squash." She's as puzzled as he is. "What's the point if you're to hack into the pentagon, if you don't take anything?"

"What do our sources say?" He asks, "Has there been any chatter?"

"It's quiet on all ends."

"A breach in security but nothing is breached." Coulson wonders out loud.

"Could have been an information dig. How many people want to know more about the Avengers Initiative? They've already got cartoons, action figures, costumes, it's only a matter of time before the press will want a sit down interview."

"Where are the Avengers?"

"Thor is between Asgard and visiting Jane, Stark and Bruce are at the Tower, Steve has is visiting with World War 2 vets, and Clint and Natasha are on a recon mission in Siberia."

"Business as usual. Once everyone is stateside, call them in."

* * *

Author's Note: And everyone's favorite Agent/Avenger makes an appearance.


	4. Creep

Author's Note: Nope, still don't own Marvel. Also the internet at my house is shot so here is an early update. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Four: Creep

* * *

It feels like a lifetime since he's wore a suit. He honestly can't remember the last time he wore one. The black suit is tailored made, thanks to Tony, and he can't help but feel a little anxious when he sees himself in the full length mirror. Parties have never really been his forte but Tony was determined. Come hell or high water, Tony was going to make him go to the party whether he liked it or not.

"Looking good buddy."

Speak of the devil…the billionaire philanthropist was leaning against his room's doorway.

"Hey Tony."

Tony pouted. "Oh, I know you're capable of smiling."

Bruce laughed dryly. "Why am I going again?" He asked as he finished putting on his tie.

"Because I want you to."

"Can I have a better reason than your whims?"

"Okay, how about it's been two weeks since you left the Tower and it would be good for you to get some fresh air and meet with other people."

He chuckled. "What are you? My caretaker?"

"Hey, you drag me to bed at three in the morning and I drag you out to socialize." Tony smiled cheekily. "It's what Science Bros do for each other."

"This party?" Bruce began nervously, "It's not going to be like any of your normal parties, right?"

Tony placed a hand over his arc reactor. "My good man, you wound me. I would never drag you to one of those _boring_ parties. I have got something special in mind. We're going to a board party!"

* * *

Normally, Bruce strives for silence. He enjoys it and so does his alter ego. It's one of the few things that he got to keep when he Hulked out. So when he's forced into the limo by Tony and Pepper with Happy escorting them, he hopes more than anything that this will be a nice quiet affair. No loud noises, no dancing go-go girls, nothing that has the normal Stark seal party of approval.

He hopes that the party will be as normal as humanely possible.

He doesn't get it.

The lights are flashing to the pounding rhythm of the music. Bruce finds it hard to believe that this large rave is a board party. Tony's guilty smile only proves his intentions that he never intended for this to be a board party. This is a full out "we're partying tonight because we can and-oh yeah there might be a couple of guys from work."

Happy struggles to bring them inside the building where the real party is going on. The crowd outside is insane. Ever since the Manhattan battle, Tony and all the Avengers have been on every news station, paper, blog in the country. Some people loved them, others considered the Avengers to be a menace but wherever they were on the spectrum, the public could not get enough of the superhero squad.

"Mr. Stark!" The press outside shouts over the fangirls' adoring screams. "Mr. Stark! Is it true that you are the leader of the Avengers?"

Tony stops on a dime. His smile is almost as big as his ego. Both Pepper and Bruce roll their eyes at what Tony might say.

"That is an interesting question. I don't like the term "leader" but am I the supreme go-to guy that is able to get earth's mightiest heroes under one roof?" Damn his charismatic smile. He easily wins over the press. "Yes, yes I am."

"Steve's not going to like that." Bruce mutters under his breath. Steve was widely considered to be the face of the Avengers, not because he was the oldest and most beloved American hero but because he spent so much of his free time doing good deeds. This week was dedicated to rebuilding a park in Brooklyn and the week before that Steve was reading to school kids. The man was a walking charity.

"If you're the leader then who is the second in command?"

Bruce is more than certain that he could disappear into the crowd and catch a cab back to the Tower. However, before he can even make a step into his disappearing act, Tony pulls him into the spotlight.

"This man." He pats Bruce lovingly on the chest. "He is the backbone, the heart and soul of the team." Is Tony laying it on thick? Yes, but that's all he knows. "Without this brilliant man, there would be no Avengers, Manhattan would be a smoldering crater, and I would not be standing here today speaking to you lovely people."

There is a beautiful moment of silence before someone asks, "And who exactly is he?"

"Is he your lover, Mr. Stark?" Bruce flushes at this.

Pepper, joining in on the fun, plants a chaste kiss on Tony's cheek. "This conversation has been fun but I'm afraid that we are late to a prior engagement. If you have any questions concerning the Avengers then please direct those questions through the proper channels. Goodbye."

Pepper herds Tony away from the paparazzi with Bruce following close behind. Happy does all he can to keep the vultures from following them inside. Pepper glances back only once. Bruce is still bright red. Happy is comforting the doctor to the best of his abilities.

"People are excited about you guys. They're grasping at straws for whatever connection you can have with each other. I wouldn't worry too much about it, they aren't that bad most of the time."

Bruce smiles weakly, "That's good to know." But he's already looking for the nearest exit to get home.

* * *

He doesn't want to be brought to center stage and have attention on him. He's not Tony. He would like to be home, in the lab, working on some algorithms but does Tony care? No because he's Tony fucking Stark whose people skills have been stunted. Still, getting past the over the top shenanigans that come with a Stark party, (Bruce swears that he just saw a physicist playing grab-ass with what looked like playboy bunny) there are some people, in his own field, that he would like nothing more to collaborate with.

Tony, most likely being cued by Pepper, take Bruce by the crook of his arm and pushes him into a conversation.

"This is Dr. Banner." Tony greets the crowd of eager scientists who would love the chance to work with him. "But you probably know him better as the Hulk."

Everything changes. The other scientists stop seeing him as a one of them. He stops being a fellow scientist in their eyes and instantly becomes the Hulk. Tony is unaware of the change but Bruce doesn't blame him. Their terrible privileges are similar but mean a world's difference to the public. Tony is still regarded as a brilliant engineer but for Bruce? He only remains as one of them so long as no one realizes that he's the Hulk.

One of the men dares to speak up, "So you are the-"

"Giant green guy who saved New York?" Tony finishes for the man. "You bet." He says proudly.

"Do it." A man by the name of Knox commands, "Go turn into a monster."

Bruce nudges Tony with his elbow. Tony nudges back as his way of saying "Okay, yeah bad idea. I get it. I owe you big time. Candyland is yours."

"Sorry but I don't take requests." Bruce tries to smile but it's impossible to smile when someone tells you to turn into a monster.

"Come on, if you are who you say you are," There's a change in the air and Bruce doesn't like it one bit. It's too familiar, like being back under a microscope. "then change into the _incredible_ Hulk." Knox was serious when he meant that the Hulk was incredible. It was next to impossible for a man like him to not admire a creature with so much power. The other scientists who did not want to meet the jolly green giant excused themselves to talk to other people.

"No thank you." Bruce coldly answers. His tone makes Tony do a double take. It's unnerving to hear Bruce sound like that and he's pretty damn sure he saw a hint of green in Bruce's dark brown eyes. "I do not let the Other Guy out satisfy a passing curiosity."

Knox gives a twisted smile. "Who says it's passing?"

Tony's good at flirting. He's knows he's good at flirting, the women he's been with know that he's good with flirting but this…this is different. He doesn't know if it's flirting or if it's something else. Whatever, Knox is creepy and Tony doesn't like the idea of him being so close to his Bruce.

"Hey is that the Swedish swim team?" Tony says suddenly. "Come on, Brucie, it's time to meet some women." He whistles at the gaggle of women. "Oh girls! How would you like to meet a superhero?"

Tony hurriedly leads Bruce away from Knox (who invited that creep anyway?) but he can still feel Knox staring at them. Tony makes a mental note to have JARVIS put Knox on the list of people who should never be invited to another party/potential future threats.

* * *

The hours pass as a haze of half-naked women, enough alcohol consumption to poison at least a football stadium's worth of people, heated scientific debates, and Pepper dragging them all home. Tony, who has had a bit too much to drink, is laying across Bruce and Pepper's lap in the car. Pepper, who isn't fazed, just lovingly runs her hands through Tony's hair. It feels a little voyeuristic to Bruce. Tony and Pepper, they are building their relationship up and Bruce? He's intruding. He's a burden. He shouldn't be here with them. Seeing Pepper being so gentle with Tony makes him think of Betty. If he sits still long enough, he can remember her touch, her smell, her gentle eyes…

He's trying not to cry but he fails.

Thankfully, he's been a master the delicate art of sobbing quietly since he was two.

He's quiet for a few minutes, it feels like hours, before Pepper says, "You're awfully quiet. Are you okay?"

How many times in his life has he been asked _that_ question? Carefully wiping his eyes disguised as stretching, neither Pepper nor a half awake Tony realize his tiny emotional breakdown.

"I'm fine." He says added with a yawn. He's learned to say that he was okay so many times, it's become second nature to him. "How are you?" He asks pleasantly.

"Tired." She responds. Pepper continues to run her hands through Tony's hair and Tony smiles happily. He knows he's lucky to have Pepper.

"Love ya Pep." He says drowsily.

A kiss goes on Tony's temple and another goes on Bruce's cheek. Bruce is stunned, he fidgets from her touch, but he recovers quickly. Pepper didn't see it or maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

"Thanks for going with us and for putting up with Tony's crap."

"It's not any different than being in the lab with him." Bruce jokes.

Pepper keeps her tone soft and her smile softer. "Yes it is. It's being out of the lab with people who don't understand your gift."

Betty was the only person who ever called the Other Guy a "gift". Bruce takes a deep breath. He's not in the mood to have a second breakdown tonight.

* * *

Author's Note: Please review if you have the time. I love to know what you guys think.


	5. I Can't Do This Alone

Author's Note: I wish I could say that I owned Marvel but I don't. You win this round Disney! So I am on Spring Break which allows me more time to work which means SURPRISE UPDATE! Anyway, I have decided that now would be a good time to respond to reviews, because, you know, what you guys say matters to me. So here we go.

Mellimon: First off, thanks for reviewing! I'm so glad that you enjoyed the Science Bros and Pepperony. There will be more to come in the Bruce chapters of the story but, fair warning, it will be heartbreaking.

* * *

Chapter Five: I Can't Do It Alone

* * *

The first month was hard. She got to keep most of her things, her last name (but she wasn't too fond of it for obvious reasons), her apartment, her job (Her father and Talbot could rot in hell for even attempting to make her quit), but the most important item that she got to keep were the photos of her and Bruce.

They were old, the edges were worn, and the photos had been taken when a Polaroid was considered high tech but those pictures meant the world to her. It was the last bit of her relationship with Bruce that she got to keep. So when she came home to find her father in her living room throwing her beloved pictures into the fireplace, she nearly lost it.

"_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!_?" She pushed him away from the roaring fire, diving on her knees, grabbing the fireplace poker. Betty hastily saved what she could, though the poker did more harm than good.

Ross pulled her away from the fireplace and the pictures but Betty kept the charred photos close to her chest. "_What the hell are you doing?_" She sobbed. Most of the photos were ruined but a few were still okay.

"You're a married woman." Her father roughly picked up from the floor. He ripped the photos from her grasp. "You can't be daydreaming about other men. Especially men who are monsters and need to be put down."

Betty must have blacked out or something because the next thing she knew, her hand was in pain (most likely broken) and her father was on the floor and his nose was bloodied and broken.

"Don't ever call Bruce a monster." Betty sneered. She picked up her photos from the floor and locked herself in her bedroom. She trusted that her father could take himself to the hospital.

* * *

The second month of married life was pure torture. Her stalkers, who still bugged her room from time to time, gave her a heads up that it would be wise to move her valuables to a safe location. Betty moved all of her valuables, the photos of Bruce, her mother's wedding ring, her favorite books into her office. Everything else went into storage.

Betty had impeccable timing because a week after she had moved her things into her office and into storage, did her apartment catch on fire while she was at work. Oddly enough, her apartment was the only one in her building that was beyond repair. Part of her was thankful that she had the chance to keep what she had and that her stalkers thought of her and liked her enough to not put her through the emotional trauma of losing everything and yet…She was now homeless. Betty wasn't that attached to her apartment. She spent more time at Bruce's place than she did at her own but still it had been her home for the past two years and she finally learned where everything was.

For the next few days, Betty camped out in her office. It wasn't so bad. She slept on her couch, she had her coffee machine right next to her, she bathed at the gym, and she saved money from never having to commute to work. Her stalkers left little messages in her coffee pot, letting her know what was going on. They advised her not to be upset the next time she came into the office. Bracing herself for the worst possible scenario (It always came back to a dead Bruce) she walked into her office.

Talbot was sitting on her desk. He smugly grinned at her.

"Hello kitten."

How she wanted to punch him.

"I'm busy. I've got papers to grade. What do you want?"

"I heard that you don't have a place to rest your head. I've come to help."

"Thanks but no thanks. In case you haven't noticed this is my home now." She motioned to her recently slept upon couch.

Talbot wasn't fazed. "I have a spacious place not too far from here. There's room for two."

It was beyond Betty's comprehension as to why Talbot would make this offer. They hadn't spoken much since the fundraiser. He had been upset that she left in the middle of the night. "Alright, what's your game?"

"Game? Why would you think-"

She glared at him.

He raised his hands in defeat. "You have figured me out Sherlock. It's your father, he doesn't want you to spend so much time here. He wants you to come live with me."

Betty threw back her head and laughed. "You're joking."

"He's already hired movers."

She was speechless.

"Look you married me." Talbot began. He stepped closer to Betty and put his arms around her, "You must see something in me, something desirable…." He leaned in for a kiss. "Would living with me be so bad?"

Betty pushed him away. Shivers went down her spine. Out of all the men she had grabbed onto, why the hell did she have to pick him?

"Get away from me." She sneered.

Talbot sighed. "I'm trying to help you darling. Your father has already made up his mind. One way or another, you are going to end up sleeping at my place. How it goes down is all up to you."

"I'll go to the police." Betty threatened.

"You would have gone to the police a long time ago if you thought that they would help you." He said haughtily. "You don't have a choice in this."

* * *

The third month was like something out a nightmare. She was now living at Talbot's place and the university had decided that with her recent emotional trauma to be her on a paid sabbatical. Slowly, she was losing everything that gave her joy. Betty was more or less confined to the apartment. The only time she got out was to run errands or to attend some military function with Talbot.

The bright spot in her day were the daily messages from her stalkers. They had gotten more creative in hiding their little notes.

_How are you holding up_?-The first note was hidden the band of her wedding ring.

_I could be so much better_-Was her reply.

There was one bed in Talbot's apartment. Reluctantly, Betty took to his bed. Talbot, he had this creepy habit of putting his arm around her waist. She had woke up screaming the first time he had done it.

_No sightings of the Hulk. Bruce is off radar_-The second note was hidden in the lining of her phone's case.

_Oh thank God_.

But still, Betty worried. Just because Bruce was away from her father did not equal safety for him. The ever mysterious SHIELD was still on the forefront of her mind. Who the hell kept assassins on their payroll? Her hacking had come to almost a stand still. Talbot kept a close eye on her. He checked her computer every day. What Talbot didn't check was his own computer. He was always in contact with the military and Stark Industries. It was the perfect opportunity for her. Betty checked in regularly with her Trojan horse in SHIELD's computer after Talbot fell asleep. SHIELD, apparently, knew that they had a hacking problem and Betty was forced to change tactics.

She was going after Stark.

* * *

The fourth, fifth, and sixth months of married life went by in a hazy blur of barely getting out her pajamas, dinners in the bedroom away from Talbot, and late night hacking of Stark Industries. It was getting close to Christmas. There was a fine layer of snow of the ground and the forecast called for more. Betty stayed close to the window, watching busy shoppers run home to avoid the cold. She hoped that Bruce, wherever he was, was warm and safe.

Talbot's apartment was decorated to perfection for the holiday season in case any of his contracts stopped by. Speaking of which, Ross started to come by for Sunday dinner. He and Talbot did a majority of the talking. Betty was more focused on the information she had dug up from Stark the night before.

There had been a large order of Hulk sized restraints.

She didn't sleep at all. Panic consumed her. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Bruce on an operating table. He struggled to escape, begged not to be cut open but it was all in vain. They cut him open anyway. His screams echoed in her mind.

"What do you think dear?"

She gasps and looks up from her plate. Her father is looking expectantly at her and Talbot is holding her hand.

"I'm sorry, what?" She shakes her head, trying to rid herself of those images. "What were we talking about?"

"Names, Elizabeth." Her father says. "We are talking about names. What names do you like?"

She scratched her head, "I don't know…Matt, David, Phillip…" She quietly adds, "Bruce."

Nobody hears her which isn't so shocking. Talbot nods happily at her choice of names and her father looks proud too.

"And girls' names?" Talbot asks.

"Um, what are we talking about here?" It sounds like a question but she's demanding answers.

"Baby names, my kitten." Talbot kisses her.

"WHAT?!" Her freak out is justified. No one could tell her otherwise.

"It's been six months, you're living together, and you're happily married." Her father lists, missing how pale she grew. "Isn't it about time you had kids? I want to be able to spoil my grandchildren."

Betty has been hit by the Hulk, she's been tackled by trained soldiers, and she has survived a helicopter crash all the while avoiding nearly being burnt alive but none of that is comparable to the shock and terror she had just hearing of the idea of having children with Talbot.

"How about Thaddeus Jr.?" Talbot asks.

Her father laughs, "See? Your husband has got the right idea! I knew you were a good one unlike that damn Banner."

Talbot is laughing. They are laughing and having a great time. But Betty? She's about to faint.

* * *

Children. They were talking about children. Wasn't marriage enough for them? She thought it was and now they wanted children? NO! No, no, no, a million times no. She was willing to keep up the happy housewife routine but bringing children into the mess was never going to happen. It was one thing to be in a loveless marriage, she was the only person really being hurt but to bring a child in was cruel.

Betty knew this because that's how her parent's marriage was.

Her mother, god rest her soul, thought that a baby would make everything better. It hadn't. Her parents argued all the time, then her mother died when she had been a teenager. Her father, may he soon rot in hell, didn't know how to take care of her. He was only ever interested in her when there it was convenient for him to show her off.

"Look at my little princess." He would say to his friends, "Isn't she beautiful? Isn't she smart? Isn't she just so perfect?"

Smile. Be polite. Speak only when spoken to. She would never put any kid through that. Over her dead body would that ever happen. She paced about the apartment. It was early morning. Talbot was gone and he had taken his computer with him. She needed help. She needed lots of help but she had no one.

Her father had done an excellent job of driving away any friends she had. Leonard, he tried to stick around but after his car mysteriously went up in flames in the middle of the night, he had to leave. Betty didn't blame him.

But she was all alone and Bruce was in trouble. She couldn't wait any longer. She had to escape.

"Are you there?" She asked out loud. "You don't have to say anything but give me a sign or something."

There was a loud crackling of static.

Wonderful.

"I've never met you guys before but I really need your help. Bruce needs your help."

There was silence for twenty minutes. Her stalkers weren't going to help her. She was on her own in this endeavor. Then, suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Betty answered it. Standing outside her door were a man and a woman. They were much younger than Betty was. They barely looked older than twenty. They wore blue jumpers and caps with the logo of a dead bug on them. They both carried black toolboxes with them.

"Hello mam." The woman said brightly, "Sorry about the delay but we've arrived for the extermination of the bugs."

"Bugs?" Betty said as the man and woman forced their way inside.

"Oh yes." Said the man, going to work. "Bugs. You've got a real problem." He pulled a cleverly hidden listening device from the chandelier. "You never know where they could be hiding."

"It's nasty business." The woman winked. "But this-"She pulled out a small cube about the size of an egg. She squeezed the cube. "-should take care of it."

The man sighed, dropping the act. "See, I told you that that little cube was worth having but "nooo" you didn't want to approve it in the budget."

"Don't start this again, Greg." The woman snapped. She turned to Betty and smiled. "Hi. We've never met before but we're your stalkers. I'm Susan and this is Greg."

"Oh, lovely." She shook their hands. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"Sorry to intrude on you like this but this get up-" He sneered at his costume in disdain, "-was the best we could do."

"No problem. So, will you help me?" Betty asked hopefully.

"We're certainly going to try." Susan said. "But we don't have long. We got about fifteen minutes before the system resets. How fast can you pack?"

"I never unpacked." She had all her personal items stuffed away in a duffel bag underneath the bed.

"Awesome." Greg smiled. "This is for you." He handed her an envelope with a plane ticket and a large sum of cash.

"Where did you get this?" Betty asked, gasping. She didn't have that much money in her savings.

"Stark." Said Greg with a large smile on his face.

"How?" Betty asked as she retrieved her duffel bag.

"I hacked your hack." Susan said. "Come on, we have to get to the car."

"You embezzled money from Stark Industries?" There was a beat up white truck running outside. Greg and Betty got in, Susan was driving.

"When you say embezzlement it sounds really negative." Susan said. "Look, Stark is neck deep in the Hulk project which means that he's okay with kidnapping, false imprisonment, human experimentation, and other nasty junk. This is more of a restitution for any harm that should happen to Bruce."

"Plus the dude's a billionaire like three times over!" Greg pointed out. "Like he's going to miss a couple thousand dollars." He smiled and then said to his partner in crime. "Susan, we're going to miss the airport if you don't take the left exit."

"Where exactly am I going?" Betty asked.

"There is a conference in New Mexico in two days that lasts a week. There are a few panels over the effects of radiation on cells. We've cleared it with your university. It's a good cover for you until we can figure something else out."

"Have you heard anything on Bruce?"

"Uh, no." Greg said. "The man is good at disappearing. We've tried getting into SHIELD but they have raised their defenses. They know that we've been poking around in their systems."

"On the bright side, what we could get from them is that they hate Ross. SHIELD will most likely keep Bruce alive and away from Ross just to spite him."

"But for how long? Until Bruce becomes too much of a liability for them?" Betty tried to keep the rising panic out of her voice. "Ross ordered restraints for Bruce."

Susan and Greg shared an uneasy look.

"You two know something." Betty's panic was rising. "What aren't you telling me?"

Greg groaned. "Okay, so before SHIELD kicked us out, we gotta chance to look at the schematics of their base." He took a deep breath. "Um…don't flip out but we have photos."

"Photos of what?" Her voice was dangerously low.

"Of a cage…" Greg said, reluctant to continue. "SHIELD has a cage made to contain the Hulk."

"_WHAT?!"_ Betty shouted nearly hitting Susan.

Susan swerved to avoid hitting the other cars on the road. "HEY! That? That was flipping out! We had an agreement not to flip out!"

"I think I just saw my life flash before my eyes." Greg whimpered. He had turned as white as a sheet and was gripping the upholstery like his life depended on it.

"Oh my god, oh my god." Betty muttered frantically. "I thought the assassins were bad."

"Black Widow and Hawkeye?" Susan let out a low whistle. "Those guys are infamous. They are the best of the best. I think it was Black Widow who got Bruce to New York."

From what Betty could read over Black Widow, that wasn't an encouraging thought to Bruce's safety.

"Don't worry." Greg said comfortingly. "Just get to New Mexico, settle into you hotel room, and pretend that you're a normal scientist for a couple of days. We'll join you as soon as possible and figure out a plan from there."

"Will you be you or my stalkers?"

"Officially? We'll be your stalkers. Unofficially? We'll be your fairy godmothers."

Greg smiled wildly, "We'll bibbidi bobbidi boo you and Bruce to the nearest country without an extradition treaty."

* * *

Author's Note: I want to apologize for how badly I've written Ross. There is no good way to write him. He comes off as bad as a cartoony villain. I'm so sorry but I want to assure you that I will improve on his character and that more elements from the 2003 film will be incorporated into the story. Have a lovely day.


	6. I'll Be Okay

Author's Note: Hello, I'm Cora and I still don't own Marvel. Also thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts, they mean a lot to me.

Mellimon: Thanks for being the longest reviewer and because of that, this surprise update is dedicated to you.

* * *

Chapter Six: I'll Be Okay

* * *

It turns out that getting the Avengers all in one room is like trying to take Fury's eye patch off, it's impossible.

Waiting for all of the Avengers to be in one location, let alone on the same planet (Tony and Bruce were working on getting cell service on Asgard in case of emergencies) wasn't going to happen. Hill and Coulson made the hack a top priority and shut down the hacker. Whoever he or she was, did not want to be found. They used proxy server after proxy server and they never used the same location twice.

As much Coulson and Hill would have loved to have a sit down with their unwelcomed guest, it was too much of a risk to let the hacker run wild in their system. It was certainly a loss, they could've had a potential ally, but everything remained quiet after the bug was dealt with. That is, until December.

Some crackpot up in Alaska, had decided to take revenge on the world. His weapon of choice to destroy the world? A hybrid of a wolf and bear. He instilled the most ferocious parts of the two. He had made a small armies' worth of the creatures and unleashed them the first chance he got.

He was quickly killed and devoured by his own creatures.

Hindsight was 20/20.

Now there were wolf-bears preying on the innocent people of Alaska. Time to send in the Avengers, or rather, time to send in Clint and Bruce. It was the most logical choice. Alaska allowed Bruce the chance to Hulk out without the fear of hurting civilians and Clint had the range to take out as many of the nasty beasts.

So it was Clint and Bruce sitting in the jet, getting ready to take care of the latest problem that SHIELD had on their hands. It was late, almost three in the morning. Clint was snoozing away but Bruce? He was wide awake.

Everything hurt.

The Hulk wasn't the source of his aches or pains. It was the snow, the ice, and the cold. He hated the cold ever since he was a small child. There was just something about the cold that seeped into him and made him feel weak.

Why couldn't the madman decided to take his revenge on Hawaii?

They never got to fight evil anywhere nice.

Bruce sighed and ran his hand through his greying hair. He was forty-two years old, he had a couple of doctorates under his belt, he spoke a fair share of languages, and yet here he was in a jet, ready to fight some genetic mutation.

Where did he go wrong in life?

"That's what you get for playing with gamma radiation…" He murmured under his breath.

**I should have known better**\- The Other Guy rumbled in the back of his mind-**Now I lost everything**.

"I wouldn't say everything." He looked over to Clint, still sleeping. "I have friends now, don't I?"

**But at what cost?**

Betty.

"I miss her."

**I miss her** **so much. I wonder what she's doing. Is she okay?**

"She's Betty. She's tougher than us."

He stopped talking to himself. Bruce told himself that Betty was okay, that she was happy, that she had a family who adored her, and a husband that loved her. She had everything that she could ever want and she would never have to deal with his disease.

**I take offense to being called a disease.**

"You're green and you put restrictions on how I live. How should I classify you as?"

**The ultimate fight or flight response.**

"You're a disease."

**I'm you. You're a disease too. **

"At least I look normal."

**Have you looked in a mirror lately? Normal isn't the word I would use to describe you.**

Was he just called ugly by his alter ego?

**Yes you were. Get over it and get ready. I can hear the howling.**

A SHIELD agent came in and shook Clint awake. "We're overhead. The area has been sealed off. Prepare to jump."

Clint stretched and yawned but picked up his bow and quiver. He grabbed a parachute and offered one to Bruce.

"Thank you but I think I'm going to need to hit the ground running."

**Don't we always?**

The back of the jet opened up. The cold air froze Bruce's insides and made him feel like he had been sucker punched. Taking in a final deep breath and pushing Betty to the back of his mind, Bruce jumped out of the jet.

"Geronimo!"

There was a flash of green.

Pain.

The Other Guy was in control.

"**HULK SMASH**!"

* * *

He was perched high up on a tree. The wind and cold didn't bother him as much as the werebears (he was sticking to that name) did. The werebears had an amazing vertical leap. Clint drew back his string and let his arrow fly.

Seven down only ninety-nine more to go.

That reminded him of a song.

"Ninety-nine werebears running loose, ninety-nine werebears running loose. You take one down, Hulk smashes it around, ninety-nine werebears running loose~"

Catchy song. A werebear came up from behind Clint but the Hulk took it down.

"Thanks buddy!"

Ten more werebears went down. The Hulk was tearing through the werebear army. The beasts jumped on the Hulk. They tried to rip open his neck. Clint aimed and fired. The werebear was shot down. The big guy was off today. He tore through the crowd with ease but his movements were uncoordinated.

"Bruce! Get you head in the game!"

The Hulk roared and ripped apart the nearest werebear. They were nearly done with this insane mission.

"Don't get an attitude with me." Clint shouted over the roars. "I don't like these guys any more than you do."

There was a scream. It didn't come from Clint and the Hulk could only roar. It came from a woman and a man. They were running away from one of the werebears. Judging from their clothes and backpacks, they had been camping. Clint groaned. The poor couple had picked the worst time to go camping. The Hulk was on it. He ran and threw the werebears chasing them away. The man was leading the retreat. The woman was right behind him when she tripped and fell. The man, too busy with self-preservation, ran on not noticing his fallen companion. A werebear descended on the woman but the Hulk intervened.

The woman gasped upon seeing her green skinned hero. Clint had an arrow ready. He wasn't going to fire at the Hulk, it was a tranquilizer arrow for the woman in case she was hysterical. The last thing that Clint wanted was a screaming civilian on their hands. But the woman wasn't scared.

"Thank you so much." She said breathlessly.

The Hulk protected the woman while Clint had the man covered.

"How come you get the pretty ones?"

The werebears were dealt with and there were no casualties. The man and woman were perfectly fine. They were scared and shaken up but they were fine. The Hulk on the other hand was reluctant to move away from the woman. Cling hopped down from the tree and grabbed onto one of the Hulk's giant fingers.

"It's okay buddy. Everyone's okay." Clint stepped out into the open, "See? No werebears, aliens, or otherwise."

The two unlucky couple moved closer to the Hulk and Clint.

"You guys are amazing!" The man said in awe. He fumbled for his cell phone. "Can I take a picture with you?"

Clint rolled his eyes. "How about n-"

Too late.

The enthusiastic man snapped a picture. The Hulk growled in annoyance and stuck his hand out at the man. The man held his phone close to his chest. The Hulk growled one more time before the man relinquished his phone. The Hulk crushed the phone in his hand and gave it back to the man who was partly horrified and amazed.

"**NO PICS. NO**."

Clint chuckled but his smirked was wiped away when the Hulk went away and Bruce came back. Nothing more awkward than having your half naked friend lie unconscious in the snow in front of people.

Oh Bruce, what are we going to do with you?

"Whoa, Bruce." Clint tried shaking the worn out doctor awake. "Wakey-wakey."

There was no good way to wake up from Hulking out. The man and woman screamed and to Clint's extreme displeasure, the man demanded the girlfriend's phone.

"Babe, I need it! We'll never get another chance like this _ever_ again!" The man was practically on his knees begging for her phone. "Think of the money we'll make."

"No! We are not taking advantage of that nice man-" Her eyes drifted towards Bruce's body and lingered there. "-he saved my life!"

Clint rolled his eyes. He didn't know what was worse: people wanting to take pictures of Bruce naked or the fact that people were ogling him. Eh, violation and harassment both were almost on the same level.

"Bruce? Wake up man." He shook Bruce harder and his head lolled off to the side. Bruce was breathing was shallow and he was drenched in sweat. Bruce gasped and coughed. When he opened his eyes, he looked right through Clint.

"Is…she…okay?"

Clint glanced up to the woman arguing with her boyfriend.

"She's okay buddy." Clint said softly. "Take deep breaths, breathe with me Bruce. Breathe slowly, in and out." This had never happened before. Bruce had told them what he was like after Hulking out but this was new. Bruce was a million miles away mentally.

"I-I hurt-"Bruce coughed violently. The cold air seared his lungs. "-I hurt her."

"No, she's fine." He said soothingly. "She's okay."

"She'll never forgive me." Bruce sobbed. "Bet-Betty hates me."

Unwillingly, Clint picked up his tranquilizer arrow. He didn't have the heart to shoot Bruce. He took the arrow head off and Clint pricked Bruce with it. The scientist seized up. Clint saw a flash of green in Bruce's eyes before he peacefully passed out in the snow.

"Now I really need it babe!" The man begged. "Think of the headlines! The Hulk dies saving damsel in distress! We'll be set for life!"

Really? They still wanted photos. Whatever happened to respect for heroes? Damn. An arrow to the girlfriend's phone and an escort home for the lovely couple solved that problem.

As for the matter to getting Bruce on the jet? Clint had that figured out.

* * *

When Bruce woke up, all he saw was white.

_Oh I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. The bullet didn't do it but a genetic wolf-bear thingy did the job. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. Just when I got my life together. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm dead. Just when I wanted to live. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm de-wait is that a zipper?_

It was a zipper. Pulling it away, Bruce woke up in a part of the jet he hoped he never would have to visit. It was the morgue.

"What the-"

"Bruce!" Clint stepped in. He smiled brightly. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

Sick.

Tired.

Disoriented.

Pained.

Miserable.

"I'm okay." He slowed down his breathing. "Did I hurt anyone?" He asked looking around to his surroundings.

"You? Ha, didn't even hurt a fly."

"Oh thank god." Bruce breathed a sigh of relief. "But then why am I in the…"

So he didn't remember a single thing. It fit with the normal method of Hulking out. "You were dead tired. Instead of dragging you through the snow, I'd give you a ride in style." Clint helped Bruce out of the body bag. Clint could feel how Bruce tensed up from the touch. He decided that it was for the best if he didn't bring up the panic attack.

* * *

Watching Clint eat was a marvel. Bruce didn't know it was possible for someone to eat pizza and ice cream at the same time. Clint knew that Bruce was watching and seeing how the scientist languished, he decided that it was time for a peace offering. Clint pushed a small bowl of chocolate ice cream over to him. Bruce stared at the bowl like it was foreign object.

"It's food." Clint said helpfully. "You eat it."

"I know what to do." Bruce mumbled but he didn't make a move towards the ice cream.

Clint scooted over to Bruce. "Everything okay? You look like death."

"I did wake up in a body bag." There was a ghost of a smile which was replaced by tiny moan.

Everything hurt.

Clint stood up and grabbed a blanket from the overhead carriers. He draped the blanket over Bruce who let out a small utterance of protest.

"You don't have to. I'm fine, really."

Clint nodded but made sure that Bruce was warm. "I know but humor me."

"Thank you…"

It was worrisome how sick Bruce looked. Was it even possible for Bruce to get sick? Clint got the weirdest visual of the Hulk wearing bunny slippers, pulling a blanket over himself, and holding an ice pack to his head. Heh, funny but off topic. What was he thinking about again? Oh yeah, Bruce. Sick. Even humanly possible? Maybe. They were a weird bunch. If he could wake up and have breakfast with a nearly ninety something man, the god of thunder, and a man who heart look like a lite-bright (God he missed playing with those) then it was possible for Bruce to be sick. Or maybe it was a side effect from the panic attack.

"How you feeling?"

"Tired." Bruce grunted. "I'm so tired."

_Tired._

Bruce was _tired._

To normal people, tired only meant one thing but Bruce wasn't a normal person. Tired for him could mean that he was either just tired, that he was exhausted, or that he was tired of life.

Damn.

Having a depressed teammate with a suicidal history made it difficult to decipher what they really meant.

He almost missed being a solo act. Almost. He liked the other Avengers. After Loki's mind control being around other people made him feel normal. Natasha, he loved her and he knew that she knew that he loved her. Thor, who could feel bad around Thor? The guy was a walking bundle of sunshine and laughs. Steve had a weird way to inspire the best in everyone and Tony, god, he was fun to hang around with. But Bruce? He was quiet, steady, and calm.

He was also incredibly hard to read. It was impossible to tell what the guy was thinking about.

Bruce looked for the exits. Even now, his eyes drifted over to the exit sign. Clint inwardly hoped that Bruce wasn't considering jumping. He doubted that the Hulk would come out and save his ass. Also, he didn't want to jump out of the plane. He would do it in a heartbeat but his shoulder was wonky at the moment and holding onto a giant rage monster wouldn't be doing his shoulder any favors.

"You can relax." Bruce said, his voice steady but soft. "I'm not going to kill myself."

Great. Now Bruce was a mind reader. Fuck. He had so many thoughts and daydreams involving Natasha. He didn't want those to get out.

"Good to know."

Bruce pulled the heavy blanket a little tighter over himself. He smiled weakly before going back to looking out the jet's window. Clint gently tapped on Bruce's shoulder.

"You really need to eat something."

"I will."

"You know, I've got an arrow that can force feed a man."

"I don't doubt that you do."

Drastic times call for drastic measures, Clint thought. He picked up a spoon, scooped up some ice cream and said, "Here comes the arrow. Going straight for the target." He made a whooshing noise as he directed the spoon towards Bruce's mouth.

The scientist stared at Clint in disbelief. "Really?"

"Too infantile?"

"You think?" That ghost of a smile appeared again but was hampered by Bruce's overall sickly appearance. He was gaunt, he had a thousand yard stare, and the slightest bit of movement was enough to provoke moans of pain. When had the good doctor get so run down? When he Hulked-out during the invasion he was fine. He was hungry, tired, and not very steady on his feet but not to this extreme. This was about ten times worse.

"You have to eat something, Bruce." Clint urged.

"I will." He said earnestly. "But please, let me sleep first?"

Clint nodded, still wishing that his teammate would at least take a bite of anything. Bruce curled up in a hunched over ball. He was fading fast. He tried to relax and fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Midgard was indeed a wondrous place. Every day he was learning something new about the strange customs and traditions of his brothers and sister in arms. Currently, Thor was splayed out on the leather couch attempting to understand the curious sport of baseball. Darcy was, as he understood, a big fan of the sport (something about the tightness of the uniforms) and he wanted to be able to hold a conversation with her. The ethereal voice whom had been named JARVIS was helpful in his quest.

"Who is that man?" Thor pointed towards the screen.

"_That would be the manager."_

"Ah, who he is speaking to?"

"_The coach. He is the one who trains the team_."

"The coach prepares the team for glorious battle, correct?"

"_In a way, yes_."

"Who is the coach directing now?" Thor asked, once again pointing to the screen. The coach was rotating the players.

"_Who_." JARVIS replied.

"The first man."

"_Who_."

"The man with the club."

"_Who_."

"The man on the club on first base." Thor said exasperated.

"_Who is on first_." JARVIS said sounding amused.

"That is what I enquire! My friend, I fear you are losing your touch." Perhaps it would be better to speak to Steve about the dynamics of baseball.

"_Who is the man's name. It is a nickname much like the one that Sir has given to you_."

"Ah, like Fabio and Point Break?"

"_Correct_."

Thor sat up pleased with himself and only grew more pleased when he saw his friends, Clint and Bruce, arrive.

"Good evening." He approached them and hugged them. "It is good to see you again. How was your mission? Were you victorious?"

"We were victorious." Bruce mumbled. He said goodbye to Thor and Clint, hobbled off to the elevator and went to his floor. Upon entering his room, Bruce promptly fell asleep. Clint took his spot, sitting on arm of the couch, and said, "I'm worried about Bruce."

"In what manner?"

"He was sloppy during the fight." Clint shrugged. "He's off." He couldn't talk to Thor about panic attacks. Did Asgardians even get panic attacks?

"Perhaps he is homesick?" Thor offered. "I have known the ache that comes with being so far away from home."

Or Betty-sick whoever Betty was. "Bruce doesn't have a home."

"Everyone has a home." Thor sat down on the couch next to Clint. "I am lucky for I have three. One with you and our fellow warriors, another with Jane, Darcy, and Selvig, and my home world Asgard."

Clint rubbed the back of his neck. "Bruce has been nomadic for a while." Was Betty someone had met on Bruce's nomadic lifestyle? The man had been almost everywhere. Tracking her down would be feat.

"Ethereal voice?" Thor called out.

"_Yes sirs_?" JARVIS answered promptly. "_How may I be of service_?"

"Where is Doctor Banner's home?"

"_Dr. Banner's home is originally Cleveland, Ohio_." Thor smiled. "_However, records indicate that Dr. Banner has increased his levels of mobility as early as his late teens to early twenties. His movement has exponentially jumped since the creation of the Hulk_."

Thor's smile fell.

"Told ya." Clint said though his victory was hollow and bitter.

"But surely, he considers the Tower his home?"

"_If it is helpful in any way sirs, this is the longest period of time that Dr. Banner has stayed in one place since his pre-Hulk days. It is a rather promising development that he intends to stay._"

Author's Note: I love Clint. I love how he's such a badass. He hangs around gods, and super soldiers, but he's still as deadly, clever, and strong as everyone else. You don't need to have a power to be a badass. Also, I know that Bruce is from Ohio but I don't know which city. If you do know, then please send me a message. Thank you and thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts!


	7. One Step Closer

Author's Note: Welcome back ladies and gents to another installment of "Back to You". I just want to start off by saying how much your reviews, alerts, and favorites mean to me. Feedback is a wonderful gift to give.

* * *

Chapter Seven:

* * *

General Ross was in a wonderful mood. He had received his Hulk sized restraints today. As an added bonus the tranquilizers for keeping Banner under control were steady in their development and there had been a sighting in Alaska. He had his men out there in a heartbeat. They had found witness who claimed that Banner had been erratic, sickly even, after Hulking out.

Banner would be easy to take down.

However, Ross' mood quickly disappeared when he got a phone call from Talbot.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE ISN'T HOME?!" General Ross roared into his phone.

"What do you think I mean when I say that she isn't home?" Talbot snapped. He wasn't one to be bullied. "I thought your spies had all eyes and ears on her. It's your fault that she got away."

"I gave you my daughter in the hopes that you would calm her down. It's your job as her husband to keep an eye on her."

"Look, I've tried hitting on her, I've flirted like crazy, I've been nice and kind and everything else that can be expected of me but she isn't interested. I'm more of her roommate than I am her husband."

"You married her!"

"At your insistence!" Talbot shouted. "I've talked to the university. They say she volunteered for the conference before they announced it to the rest of the staff. She's already in New Mexico. Get. Over. It." He hung up and went back to reading his book.

Glen Talbot liked Betty as much as the next person. She was pretty but distant. He hoped that maybe with time, she would come to return his affections but no. Betty remained as cold and as distant as the day they met. The only upside to marrying her, other than new connections to different military branches, was that she provided companionship, she split the rent, and that her taste of Thai takeout was superb.

He hoped that she had a lovely time in New Mexico.

* * *

Betty hated New Mexico.

She hated it more than life itself. Here she was in this dessert town, wallowing in her hotel room and Bruce out there somewhere, possibly in great danger-no. Not possibly. There were assassins involved, there was Tony Stark the "Merchant of Death", there were things that she didn't even know what to classify as involved in this-this dare she call it a rescue mission? She had been in New Mexico in for one day and she had a million nightmares over Bruce. Her nightmares involved assassins, angry Norse Gods, and eccentric billionaires and her Bruce being sold to the military where he was poked and prodded and ultimately dissected.

She was worried sick.

There had been no word from Susan or Greg. Her room was clean of any listening devices. For the first time in a long time, she was truly alone.

She didn't like it.

She didn't know what to do with herself.

She hadn't been normal in a very long time.

What did normal people do?

Her stomach growled. Well, normal people did have to feed themselves, right? She glanced over to her clock. It was too late for lunch, too early for dinner but just right to grab a pastry and a cup of coffee. She left her hotel room but the thoughts of Bruce still filled her mind. She wanted to cry, she wanted to scream, or break something but what good would that do? She had to focus her rage, her sorrow, her fear on finding Bruce. Once they were together, they would get the hell out of the States and run away. She would never let anyone hurt him again. She would hide him away from the rest of the world.

Betty sighed.

She was thinking of Bruce like he was a possession, like he was something to be owned. She couldn't do that to him. She was fighting to get him away from people who thought of him like that. Betty blinked back her tears and took in a deep breath. She held hugged herself as she got in the elevator, pressed the lobby button. Just as the doors were closing, a young woman shouted, "Hold the door!"

Betty stopped the doors from closing and the young woman got it. She was wearing fuchsia t-shirt, jeans, and wore black glasses. She panted as she got in to the elevator.

"Whoo, thanks." She smiled.

Betty returned the smile though it lacked any warmth.

"You in town for the convention thingy?"

Betty turned her head, preoccupied with her thoughts, and nodded. "Yes." Keep your answers short and simple. There was always a chance that the girl could be a spy from her father. Though, if she was, her father was certainly stepping out of his comfort zone. The girl didn't look like she had any military training. She looked like a techie. Maybe she was a stalker in training. Betty's insides froze. If the girl standing next to her was a stalker in training then it was right to think that the plan was screwed.

Betty was on her own.

"That's cool." The girl smiled. She was bubbly. Highly suspicious, very highly _fucking_ suspicious. It's always the bubbly ones. "Where you from?"

"No place special."

"Hmm okay…so what are you? I'm a political scientist."

"You're a political scientist? You're out of your depth, aren't you?"

"I'm also an intern." The girl said, still smiling. "Darcy Lewis."

"Doctor Elizabeth-" To go by her maiden name or borrow Talbots? Screw it, going with a third option here, "Lee. Who do you intern with?"

"Doctor Foster."

"Jane Foster?" She had heard of Jane Foster but the girl was way out there in the scientific community. She was doing things that had no research, no paved path, and no continuity. Jane was on the fringes. The girl was like the rebel badass of science.

"You know of her?" Darcy asked.

"Sorta…" Okay so it was unlikely that Darcy the Intern was a stalker. "She's an astrophysicist. She works with a Doctor Erik Selvig."

"Yeah Selvig's pretty cool. This one time, he and Jane's boyfriend, Th-"

The elevator, mercifully, came to the lobby floor. "It's been a pleasure talking to you." Betty said before she hurriedly ran out.

"Ok, bye…"

* * *

The coffee was cold, the doughnut was bland, and people get coming up to her. Why were people coming up to her? Did she have to wear a sign that said "Do Not Disturb"? She should have worn her wedding ring to blow off guys. Why didn't she think to bring the wedding ring? She took a sip of her coffee and glanced around the room.

Where the hell were Susan and Greg?

She couldn't just sit here and wait for something to happen. She'd been doing that her entire life. Betty drummed her fingers against the table. Every second that she sat here was another second Bruce was either trapped, tortured, or some horrible third option that she didn't want to think about.

Useless.

Weak.

Worthless.

She didn't even have a secure connection to hack into Stark Industries. What could she do? She gripped her coffee, trying to fight back her tears. She hated feeling like this. What she wouldn't give to have the power to go break into SHIELD or wherever Bruce was being held and rescue him herself.

"Excuse me, miss?" A hand was placed on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

It was Dr. Selvig.

"Y-Yes."

He sat down across from her in the booth. "Are you sure? You seem shaken up."

"I've been having a rather bad day." She said, unintentionally icily. "Can I help you with something?"

"Uh no," he said rather surprised, "I thought I saw you crying and-"

"You were mistaken." She kept her manners but her glare made Selvig shudder.

"Actually Darcy, thought you were crying and that's why-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Betty saw Darcy hiding poorly behind a column. Betty had been hyper vigilant and blamed her current state for not catching it. Darcy came over.

"Oh, I see…" said Betty keeping up her walls. Darcy flinched at Betty's tone.

"So…" Darcy said, nervously smiling, "Are you okay? Cause you have got this serious "Come near me and I will shank you" vibe."

"Which made you want to come near me?" Betty asked incredulously.

"Well that and I don't know anyone else here other than Selvig." Selvig scooted over and made room for Darcy to sit next to him.

"Shouldn't you be with Dr. Foster?" Betty asked wearily. Why were people coming up to her?

"Jane? Nah, she's in super science mode."

"What Darcy means is Jane in currently hosting one of the panels." Explained Selvig. "We're waiting for her to finish up."

* * *

Betty had, honest to god, no fucking idea how she ended up bar hopping with Selvig and Darcy. She was stressed out. Someone (Betty is ninety-five percent sure that it was Selvig) brought up how they wanted a decent drink and knew about a good bar, and now Betty was one her third beer.

"So what has got your panties in a knot?" Darcy asked sipping a martini.

For the first time in a long time, Betty laughs. Maybe it's the alcohol, the fact that she's with people who aren't trying to manipulate her life, or the depression but she laughs, loudly and cynically. "I'm having some…" How to describe Bruce? Boyfriend? Best friend? Lover? All of the above?"…guy problems."

Darcy lovingly slaps Selvig on the arm, "We know all about that." Darcy's smile gets bigger. "Sea bass, sea bass, sea bass, sea bass."

"Speak for yourself." Said Selvig. "But what's the problem?"

_My father is hunting the love of my life and wants to kill him. Also, the love of my life is involved with a group of characters who would sooner kill him the second it became advantageous for them._

"Oh you know, it's the usual, my father disapproves of him."

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the understatement of the century!

"That all?" Selvig laughs as he downs his drink. "What's stopping you from running off with him?"

"Yeah!" Darcy is pumped. "Go run off with your Romeo! Run Juliet run off into the sunset with your Romeo."

"We are star cross lovers but I would prefer if we didn't die." Betty smirked. "He has this strange thing about self-preservation that I'm keen to agree on."

"So what does your boy toy do? Is he cut? Is he a doctor like you?"

Betty was hesitant but replied, "He is a doctor. He's sweet and he's kind." She couldn't help but sigh dreamily. "Bruce is the most giving person that I have ever known."

"Oh you've got it bad." Selvig laughed. "This is how Jane looks at-" his smile disappeared because in stormed a very angry Doctor Jane Foster. Following Jane, was Susan and Greg.

Betty stood up, "I'll be right back. Need to use the restroom."

Susan followed Betty into the bathroom. After checking the stalls and finding no one else in the bathroom, Susan went after Betty.

"What the hell? I thought we had a plan! You were supposed to stay in your hotel room and be normal."

"I don't know how to be normal." Betty laughed.

Susan groaned and scrunched her nose. "Are you drunk?"

"Tipsy, not drunk." Betty's smirk remained.

"Why are you drinking? We need you-"

"To do what? Sit on the sidelines, hope for the best, and then what? What plan could we ever come up with to go against the army?" She groaned and pulled herself together. "Sorry. I don't mean to snap at you but you don't know what it's like. The waiting, the not knowing, is killing me. I feel like I'm dying." Betty sniffled. "Every time I close my eyes and-and he's in a cage. He's chained up and people are killing him." She sobbed. "They don't see Bruce Banner. All they see is a monster."

"Not everyone does." Susan said quietly. "I was in New York during the alien invasion. I was um…ripping off ATM machines when the invasion started. I was running scared. I thought I was going to die." She took a shaky breath. "But then the Hulk saved my life. He picked up this car and threw it at the alien that was chasing me. I saw his eyes. They weren't those of a monster's. They were a man's."

"I never thanked you for the card."

"That was Greg's idea." Susan smiled softly. "Before your dad recruited him, he was a student in Dr. Banner's class. He saw what happened at Culver. Look, um we think we have a lead."

"On Bruce?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Greg's been listening to the other spies in our division. They think that Bruce is being held in New York."

The world stopped spinning.

Betty caught her breath. "He's in New York." She laughed. "He's been in New York this entire time?"

"Yes. We believe that Bruce is at Stark's Tower." Susan explained. "But the security inside the Tower is insane. We can't get in."

"I can get in." Betty said. "I have been studying Stark's security system since I've hacked in. I just need a secure connection to work my magic."

"I was hoping that you would say that." Susan handed Betty a laptop from her purse. "This is for you. Greg sneaked it out of the office while your dad was ripping me a new one."

"I'm so sorry about that."

"It's okay but um…this is the last time that we can help." Susan smiled sadly. "Because if everything is going according to plan, Greg is getting wasted by Dr. Selvig outside and we'll be fired by your dad in the morning."

"What?" Betty was shocked.

"Sorry but your dad knows that something's up. We've never lost track of you before and we're on thin ice. You've got one chance to get Bruce before your dad assigns someone else way less Hulk friendly. This is it. It's now or never."

Betty brought Susan into a tight hug. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"Hey, don't think anything of it."

* * *

Leaving the restroom, Betty came onto quite a scene. Dr. Foster was reprimanding Darcy (Something about leaving the conference early) and Selvig whose honor had been violated (Greg apparently called him grandpa and said that he couldn't hold his liquor) was now in the midst of defending his drinking capabilities via shots.

Poor Greg never knew what hit him.

Susan played her part. She apologized over and over again as she dragged Greg out of the bar. Darcy held up Selvig's arm, "We have a winner!"

Betty clapped but Jane still looked pissed. "I can't believe you guys ditched me to go drink. I had to pack up everything by myself!"

Darcy moaned. "We were stuck in the hotel room for six hours. You can't blame us for wanting to stretch our legs."

Jane had her hands on her hips but sighed. "Sometimes you guys are unbelievable. Come on, let's head back home."

"Can I catch a ride with you to the hotel? I don't feel very safe taking a cab." She nervously smiled. "Bad experience, you know?"

Jane, either too tired to argue or feeling sorry for Betty, nodded. Half an hour later, Betty was piled into what could only be described as an RV storm chaser. Selvig was nodding off, Darcy was playing with the radio, and Jane was driving. Betty was in the back. They were only ten minutes away from the hotel and she went with her ploy now.

Opening up her pursue, she pretended to look for an item. "Oh no!" Betty faked her distressed. "My wallet! I can't find it."

Selvig yawned. "Where did you lose it?"

"I don't know, uh I had it at the first bar but-" She rummaged through her purse. "-I don't know. I had everything in there. My cash, cards, and my room's key card."

"They won't give you a new key card without some form of I.D." Jane said.

"Hey, it's late. Why don't you crash over at our place?" Darcy asked.

"Oh, I couldn't impose-"

"You wouldn't be imposing in the slightest. It's not the first time we've taken strangers in." Selvig yawned.

Jane turned the car around and drove away from the hotel. Betty relaxed both mentally and physically. She was one step closer to Bruce.

* * *

She stared at the computer screen for the longest time. Betty had hacked in and set everything up but found herself almost frozen from even touching the keyboard.

"You're up late."

Betty turned around and saw Dr. Foster sipping some hot chocolate. She thought that everyone else had gone to sleep (Jane was letting her crash on the couch) but apparently she was wrong.

"What's that for? Dr. Foster sat across from Betty. "Research?"

"Sort of. It's more personal study than anything else." Her voice broke. "I'm lost on what to do."

"Are you okay?"

"No." Betty freely cried. "I'm so screwed up. I'm-"

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jane moved from her chair to the couch. She handed Betty a tissue. Betty gratefully took the tissue and dried her eyes.

"I don't think so. I'm just so screwed up and-" Betty felt like throwing the laptop against the wall. "-and I feel suffocated and I just don't know what to do."

"What's going on?"

Why not spill her heart to a stranger? "Um well, there's this guy."

"Yeah?"

"We've known each other forever. We were at the same college, we dated throughout, and we even ended up working on the same projects together." She missed him so much. "I thought that by now, we would be married."

"Uh-huh."

"And it didn't work out that way." She said tearfully.

"Oh…what happened?"

_There was a horrible lab accident. _

"We had a bit of a…bad break-up."

"What caused it? If you don't mind me asking?"

_My father is actively trying to kill him. _

"My father thought that he was below me."

There was a look in Dr. Foster's eyes. She nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I've been there." She spoke softly but the look in her eyes, the feeling of being less, never left.

"Your boyfriend's father pulled the same thing?"

Jane nodded again. "Hmm-mm it was a stressful time when I met his parents. His father didn't exactly think the stars of me."

"My father is the same way. He's never liked anyone I've hung out with or dated but with Bruce, it's like a switch was flipped." She chuckled. "It's really weird but the more my father tried to push us away the harder Bruce came back for me." The tears came back. "I've never had anyone make an effort to be with me."

"He sounds like a great guy but why did you let your dad push him away? Isn't Bruce, was it? Isn't he worth it?"

"He's worth everything to me. I'd give up everything just to know that he's okay."

"He's okay?" Worry flashed across Jane's face. "What?"

"My father pushed him away. He forced Bruce to move around a lot. He blacklisted him." Betty said bitterly. "It wasn't enough to keep us away from each other but he had to ruin his career."

"Do you know where he is now?" Jane asked.

"He's in New York." Betty said helpfully. "I know where he lives now but I don't know." Her voice broke again. "What if he hates me? What if he's so upset at me for what my father has done to him that he doesn't want to see me again?" Betty asked worriedly. "I've been so preoccupied with "Ifs" that I never considered-" She took in a deep breath and forced to calm herself down. "I know he's not in a good place. I know that for a fact but-" Betty sighed. "-I never thought that life would be so difficult and strange."

"I live and breathe strange but if your guy is in trouble and you need to get away from your dad, you are welcome to stay here."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Jane high-fived Betty. "Us girls with father problems have to stick together."

Betty opened the laptop back open but the fear and anxiety came back in full force. Jane grabbed the laptop from Betty.

"Hey!"

"If you don't message him then I will." She teasingly threatened. "And it will be embarrassing."

Betty took back the laptop. "Okay, okay, I'm on it. Let's do this."

* * *

Author's Note: Let's hear it for Jane everyone! I don't know why but I see Jane and Betty being best friends. We will now go back to our regular updating schedule. Check back again next Sunday for the latest update!


	8. Come What May

Author's Note: Okay guys, my internet is going down for a while. So, just in case, I'm updating early. Per the norm, it's time to answer reviews.

mellimon: As the longest reviewer, you get the story. This is now your story. I'm so happy that you are loving the characters. It's nice to get feedback.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Come What May

* * *

"_Dr. Banner? As much as I hate to wake you from your much needed sleep, I find it prudent to alert you that you seem to have someone wanting to contact you_."

Bruce stirred but the aches and pains from his Hulk out kept him firmly in bed. "Is it from Tony?" He mumbled through the thick but oh so warm sheets. It should be illegal to have such a comfortable bed.

"_No Dr. Banner but it is encrypted message. Would you like to open it_?"

"Sure. Go ahead." Bruce fumbled for a nearby tablet that Tony had installed in everyone's floors.

Ms. Green: Are you there, Mr. Green?

It glared at him in all of it's eight-bit-ness.

Ms. Green: Mr. Green? Are you there?

"_Dr. Banner? I am detecting a high level of adrenaline in your system. Are you unwell_?"

Bruce found himself unable to talk. Those little words were enough to have Bruce wide awake. What to say? What to do? Was there even a sentence that could be strung together that could get his point across?

Mr. Green: Hi.

He was a genius and that's what he started with.

"What the fuck, Bruce?" He muttered to himself. "Hi? Really? That's the best you could come up with? Fucking Hi?"

Mr. Green: How are you doing?

* * *

"He wants to know how I'm doing." Betty said breathlessly.

"How are you doing?" Jane asked.

"It feels like I'm about to have a heart attack."

"Okay how about we don't put that down?" Offered Jane. "But be honest."

Ms. Green: I miss you. I miss you so much.

"That's a good start." Nodded Jane.

* * *

She missed him. She actually missed him!

BEST. DAY. EVER.

Mr. Green: I miss you too. Are you doing okay? I haven't seen you in a while.

Ms. Green: I've been good. Keeping busy with work, I've been grading papers but are you okay? I saw you in New York during the invasion and…I need to know that you are okay.

Mr. Green: I think that I'm in a better place than I have been in a very long time.

Ms. Green: Prove it to me. I need to see you. I need to see that you're not…

Neither one needed to go further. He knew. She knew. Her fears were well justified. How could Bruce ever deny her?

Mr. Green: Where? When?

Ms. Green: Remember our place?

Bruce felt his heart flutter. The pizza shop. How many days and pleasant summer nights did they spend hanging out there?

Mr. Green: Of course I do! When?

Ms. Green: The sooner the better.

Mr. Green: Tomorrow? At seven?

Ms. Green: I'll be there. Stay safe and be careful.

Was it too soon to say this? Betty didn't care and with a swift tap of the keys she typed; Ms. Green: I love you.

Mr. Green: I love you too.

* * *

"You did it." Jane laughed. "How do you feel?"

"Scared and sick and…"

"And?" Jane encouraged her. "Go on."

"Amazing." Betty laughed. "I feel amazing."

"That's great!" Jane stood up and stretched.

"Thanks." Betty said softly.

"For what?"

"For helping me with this. Bruce, he-I, I love him and I don't think that I could have done this without your help."

"You're welcome."

* * *

Tomorrow couldn't have come any sooner for Bruce. He barely slept. When he did manage to sleep, his dreams were consumed by _that_ day.

Hulking out and hurting Betty.

He remembered it all perfectly much to his dismay.

That's how Bruce found himself staggering to the bathroom around three in the morning. He needed to look at himself and see that he hadn't lost control. Looking in the mirror was far harder than Bruce ever imagined it would be. Behind his tired eyes, he could see tiny glimpses of the Hulk. The Other Guy was waiting, always aware of his surroundings and potential enemies, for his chance to come out and play. Bruce rubbed his face and reminded him that the Other Guy protected him.

He was his fight or flight response.

He was a protector.

Not a monster.

…capable of destroying Harlem…

Not a monster.

…capable of ruining his life…

Not a monster.

…capable of taking Betty away…

A monster.

He looked back at his reflection. His eyes were green now.

"Give me a break."

Brown over took green. Everything was calm in his world…for a while. Bruce ran a hand through his hair. It had gotten long; it was getting to Thor levels of length. The dark circles under his eyes were prominent, it was practically the first thing people noticed about him.

**What will Betty say when she sees you like this? **

Panic. Fear. Concern.

"Think it's time to clean up?" He grabbed a pair of scissors and snipped away his unruly locks.

**It's about time.**

* * *

It was snowing heavily in New York. There was two feet of snow on the ground and the weather forecast called for more. In conclusion it was the perfect Christmas weather. The Tower was decked out (Tony had spared no expense), there was a massive tree in the main living room, and the stockings were hung with care. Pepper, being the main coordinator for any and all holiday festivities, was quite confident that the Avengers' first Christmas would be pleasant. Clint and Natasha were off duty for three weeks to rest from their normal duties, Steve was due back from D.C. any day now, Thor had left the Tower but promised to be back in time, Tony hadn't blown anything up, and Bruce was starting to come around to the idea that the Tower was his home.

Everything was perfect.

The once considered time bomb that was the Avengers was now more like a highly dysfunctional family. Content with her family, Pepper took a well-deserved brake from her paperwork (holiday bonuses had to be filed a week before but Tony didn't want to do it so it was left to her.) and marked off another day on her tablet. It was only a week till Christmas. The Tower was quiet without the others. She almost missed the explosions that came daily from Tony and Bruce's lab.

The elevator dinged and out came Bruce.

No offense to Bruce but tonight he looked exceptionally handsome. He wore a thick dark blue wool coat which complimented his tan skin. His wonderfully curly had been cut back a bit but still retained it wild "Everyone wants to run their hands through it" look. The light stubble had been shaved off and there was no sign that he was wearing any of his frumpy and unflattering clothes that were a size or two too large for him.

To be frank, Bruce looked gorgeous. He needed to dress like this more often.

"Hello Pepper." He greeted as he poured himself a cup of hot chocolate.

"Hey Bruce." She found it irresistible to say, "You clean up nicely."

He chuckled nervously and his hand went through his hair, tussling it slightly, "Thanks. You look lovely as always."

At this, she scoffed. Here she was lounging about in jean shorts and a white tank top and Bruce looked like he belonged modeling in a magazine.

"What the occasion?"

"Well…um actually I'm going to a bit of a reunion." He said shyly.

"With who?" She leaned over with anticipation.

"There's this girl…" Automatically, Bruce got a faraway look in his eyes.

"What's her name?"

"Betty." It was a beautiful thing when Bruce genuinely smiled. His smile lit up the entire room. "We use to work together before…ah, you know."

Pepper nodded. It was good that Bruce was reconnecting with people from his past.

"We're supposed to be meeting up in about an hour." His eyes went to his watch. "I gotta say, I'm pretty nervous."

"Don't be, just be your normal charming self. Do you want me to call you a car?"

"If you don't mind." He finished up his drink and went downstairs. "Don't wait up."

* * *

She sat nervously in the booth. Her eyes scanned the somewhat crowded pizza shop. There was no sign of Bruce. It was now ten minutes past seven. Where was Bruce? He was usually on time. She scanned the crowd again. He still wasn't here.

Betty assumed the worst.

Whoever she had messaged yesterday was not Bruce but some automatic replying machine. Her Bruce was in trouble. It was time to start formulating a plan. She could break into Stark's Tower. She would hack into the system again, make herself as an employee, take out as many guards as possible if they found her, find wherever they were holding Bruce and then-

"Betty?"

She looked up.

There he was. He wasn't starved, he wasn't beaten, he wasn't tortured or dead. He was standing right in front of her. "I'm sorry I'm late. The snow made it hard to get here. I would've called but I don't have your num-"

Betty brought him into a tight hug. "I missed you." She didn't want to let him go. She would never let him ago again.

"I missed you too." He hugged a little tighter.

They sat down in a private booth, far away from prying eyes.

"I want you to run away with me." Was the first thing she said to him.

"What?" He laughed nervously. "Betty, I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you say-"

"Yes. Bruce, run away with me. My fath-"No. Her father lost that privilege long ago. "Ross isn't-he's still obsessed with you. He's not going to stop because you're a hero. It's not safe for you here. I have enough money and we can start a new life-"

"Betty. Nowhere is really "safe" for me." Bruce said is a resigned tone. "I'll always be dangerous."

Betty scowled at Bruce's mentality, "You're safe with me."

All Bruce could remember was the helicopter going down and the Abomination. "You nearly died…three times."

"I got out with barely a scratch."

"You ran out onto a battlefield."

She scoffed. "They were shooting you. Besides, you didn't hurt me. General Ross deciding to bring out the big guns now that did hurt me. He's a greater threat to me than you or the Hulk."

"What about when he first showed up? You were in the hospital for three months."

"In my defense, the lab did explode. We don't have a safety procedure when labs explode." She smiled and kissed him. "The Hulk is a sweetheart. He would never hurt me. All he's ever done is protect me just like when he protects you." She wrapped her fingers around Bruce's hand. "So he's a slightly greener version of you, big whoop. I still love him, just like I still love you."

He could die a happy man now.

"Betty, I love you too."

True love conquers all!

"So will you run away with me?" She asked. "I wasn't joking around when I said that it wasn't safe for you here. There someone else who's interested in the Hulk. It's an organization, SHIELD, and they have a cage to contain you."

"I know about SHIELD. I'm sort of working with them. And I'm pretty sure that the cage was destroyed when I accidentally brought down the helicarrier."

She gasped. "Do you know about the assassins SHIELD keeps around? Black Widow and Hawkeye?"

"Natasha and Clint? Yes, I go on missions with them sometimes. Just a couple of days ago we were in Alaska and I had to Hulk out but they're both very nice. Natasha is still scared of me, not that I blame her but Clint isn't. He actually cooks when Steve isn't at the Tower."

Her head was spinning. "Steve?" she numbly said.

"Captain America. He's literally the nicest guy I know."

"Anyone else I should know of?" She was still having a hard time wrapping her head around Hawkeye the deadly assassin who cooks. He was probably poisoning everyone's food. It was a miracle Bruce wasn't dead.

"There's Thor."

"Is this the hammer guy?"

"Yeah, he's loud but he's a good guy."

Betty rubbed her forehead. Maybe Bruce was brainwashed. That seemed reasonable. If she said a secret word like "nutmeg" would he suddenly start screaming and wonder where he was?

"And last but not least there's Tony." He smiled.

"I know about Tony. Bruce, you have to get away from him. He's dangerous. The man is a ticking time-bomb."

"Tony? Hmm, he's a little reckless, yeah but Pepper keeps him grounded."

"I didn't want to tell you this. I didn't want to scare you but Bruce, I saw Ross order Hulk sized restraints from Stark Industries."

"What?" He was heartbroken. "No, it-it has to be a mistake, Betty. Tony wouldn't do that to me. He's my best friend. We're science bros." Bruce said but fear and paranoia took hold. One did not come to trust people so easily after what Bruce went through. Everyone was a potential threat. The idea that Tony was plotting against him sent shivers down his spine. "He wouldn't do that to me." He said more to himself.

"I saw the order form myself. It had his signature on it. Stark is working with Ross." She held his hand while her other went to his back. She made small circles right below his neck. It was an old calming routine that she'd used since the earliest days of their dating life. "Please, Bruce, _please_ just run away with me. New York isn't safe not with Ross or Stark on the prowl." She kissed him. "I've already booked us a flight."

"Betty?" He said quietly.

"Yes?"

"I-I…" He struggled with his words. "I want you to come with me."

"Huh?"

"Come back to the Tower with me."

"Bruce…" Her tone was firm. "Those people are going to get you killed. Please don't ask me to attend your funeral."

"Betty, I swear on my mother's grave that these people will not hurt me. I trust them completely."

Everything changed. Betty didn't know what to think any more.

"Wow…you're serious." She swallowed hard. Her stomach felt like it was full of butterflies. "Um…uh, okay."

"Come back with me? Please Betty?"

She reluctantly nodded. "Okay, okay…" she sighed. "Let's do this. I'll go with you but first can we just talk?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't care." She buried herself into his chest, happy to be near him again. "I just miss hearing your voice."

They sat in their booth for what seemed like an eternity. They talked. They talked about anything that came to their minds. However, there were a few subjects that were left out. Bruce conveniently left out his suicide attempt and Betty fittingly forgot to mention her marriage to Talbot.

They didn't want to upset each other.

Why ruin such a happy moment?

* * *

By the time the pizza shop closed, it was bitterly cold out and the snow was piled high onto the sidewalk. Betty pulled her coat's collar up as they left. The only discreet way to leave the shop was through the kitchen into the alley. She had insisted on leaving like this, she was still paranoid and Bruce completely understood. He still kept most of his "on the run" habits.

"Are you sure about this?" She asked for the final time that night. "About SHIELD and Stark?"

A twinge of guilt and fear shot through Bruce's heart. He trusted Betty with his life and she had never lead him astray but Tony was his best friend. He was the first person since Betty who wasn't afraid that he would go on a killing spree. Tony treated him like he was a person.

How could he choose between them?

"I-I'm sure." He wanted to be sure. He trusted Tony but still…there was that fear. "I am, yeah. You'll see," he held her tight. ", the other Avengers are great. You'll like Tony and Steve and Pepper and everyone else! They are amazing people."

Betty was lost in her thoughts. Meeting the Merchant of Death? Assassins? She felt like she and Bruce were walking straight into a trap. She held onto Bruce a little tighter. He whimpered in pain and let out a little gasp. She hadn't hugged him that hard and that's why Betty saw it.

A dart.

There was a dart with Stark Industries logo on in it in Bruce's neck.

Damn you Stark.

Bruce moaned. The drugs were already taking hold. Betty frantically scanned the high rooftops for where the dart could have been shot from. Bruce, already unsteady on his feet but sharp as ever, was looking opposite of where Betty was for potential threats. There was no way that this was a one person job. If it was Ross or whomever else was after him (Please don't let it be Tony, he thought, anyone but Tony) there were bound to be more.

That's when Bruce saw the sniper. He recognized those cold green eyes.

It was Ross himself. Ross held the gun in his hands and his sights on Bruce. However, Ross wasn't aiming at Bruce's head, heavens no, Ross wouldn't want to damage the monster or risk the Hulk coming out despite the drugs. Ross aimed at Bruce through Betty.

She was in the way and thus to Ross, she was disposable.

Bruce didn't even have to think on what he was going to do next. Still in Betty's embrace, Bruce turned her away. She wouldn't be his shield from Ross, he would be hers. Just as Bruce took Betty's place, Betty saw her father fire. The bullet penetrated through Bruce and went into Betty where it stayed. Betty held onto Bruce tighter as she felt their blood commingle.

Then the men came. They were dressed in black, their faces were concealed by their masks and visors. They wrenched Betty and Bruce away. They threw Betty to the cold snow covered ground as Bruce was quickly handcuffed and had a black hood placed over his head.

"Stop!" Betty gasped. "You're hurting him!"

She was useless.

She was weak.

She was worthless.

Betty struggled for her phone. It was only a few feet away from her. If she could call for help, from anyone at all then maybe it wouldn't be too late.

"Target is secured." The men in black said into their radios. "We repeat, General Ross, the target is secured."

There was a van and Bruce was shoved inside.

"Load him up." Betty heard Ross' voice command over the radio.

Betty was nearly at her phone. She saw the license plate of the van. The numbers were seared into her mind. She could call 911, they could track it down and-another shot was fired. Her phone was nothing more but a badly damaged paperweight now. She weakly look up-it was so hard to breathe now-General Ross, still holding the gun, was smirking. He was so proud of himself.

One of the men in black, began to pick her up and drag her. He was so rough, it felt like she was being ripped apart. "General Ross, sir, should I arrange for an ambulance for her?" he called into his radio.

"No. Leave her."

Betty couldn't say that she was surprised.

"But General Ross, sir, she's a civilian."

"She's a traitor." Who knew Ross could sound so cold? "She willfully aided the most dangerous fugitive in the world. Hide her behind the garbage."

"Sir, I-"

"It's where she belongs." Ross said. "Do it soldier or you'll be guarding the Hulk without any backup."

The man in black dragged Betty behind the dumpster and left her there. He and the rest of his team hopped into the back of the van and drove off.

* * *

Author's Note: Ross stepped up from being a mustache twirling villain to shooting his own daughter and leaving her to die sort of villain. I appreciate the reviews, the favorites, and alerts. They mean a lot to me guys.


	9. All I Care About

Author's Note: Hooray for reviews! And a very special thanks to Hero-100 for putting this story on your alert and favorite list. Okay so my internet is back up, I'm very sorry for the hectic updating schedule, this isn't going according to plan at all, but I will attempt to keep on a steady schedule. Anyway, since my internet is back up I will be posting this breather chapter. There won't be much, just some backstory and our heroes gaining a new ally. Anyway, on with the story!

* * *

PJ: Hola PJ, yo estaba muy feliz de ver a su revisión. Te prometo que no voy a ir por la borda con los personajes. Podría haber un nuevo personaje a aparecer pronto, pero todo se centrará en Bruce, Betty, y Ross. Además, el carácter de Ross, simplemente sacando de los cómics y la película de 2008, que es esta altamente paranoico dictador como que preocuparse, elementos de la película de 2003, como Brian Banner y su carácter abusivo hacia Bruce y su madre lo hará aparecer. Sólo puedo esperar que lleguen a sus expectativas.

Alethea 13: Tony is going to be beyond pissed. He's going to be hurt, upset, and most importantly he is going to hate Betty. Both Betty and Tony have very strong personalities so they will clash but then you add in Bruce and his safety…well things will go to hell in a lovely handbasket.

Mellimon: It's always a pleasure to hear from you. I'm so glad that you like the story. I was really trying to make Bruce and Betty's reunion as heartfelt as possible but I don't think that it comes anywhere near close to the rain scene from the movie. I always cry when I watch that scene. I'm glad you brought up Bruce swearing on his mother's grave, I was worried about that it would seem too rushed. I flipped-flopped when I was writing that. I mean, on one hand Betty is a badass and she helped (aided a wanted fugitive) Bruce so I thought maybe it wasn't too out there. Also, it's not wrong that you want Betty to punch Tony. Tony and Betty will clash and it won't be pretty. Jane is going to show up and as you predicted Clint is going to be cool with her. Natasha and Betty will have a little heart to heart because I have wanted to write that out for a while. Hope you like this chapter!

* * *

Chapter Nine: All I Care About

* * *

For as long as Arthur Lee could remember, he always wanted to be a soldier. He loved his country, he loved this great land that he called home, and all he ever wanted to do was to become a soldier and protect this land. To Arthur Lee, it was a noble and worthy goal in life.

The day he turned seventeen, he enlisted.

He got in, he worked hard, and eventually he rose through the ranks and became a captain. The day he got to meet General Ross, his hero, was the day that Arthur considered his dream fulfilled. While other kids had posters of rock stars and movie stars, Arthur's room was decorated in red, white, and blue. He had posters of Captain America and cool guys like General Ross on his wall.

They were the example of which he hoped to live up to.

When he met General Ross, who was just as amazing as Arthur thought and hoped he would be, the good General told him, "Son, I would like to offer you the chance to save America." How on earth could Arthur ever refuse?

He jumped aboard without ever questioning the project.

General Ross had assembled a mighty team. There were special Ops, scientists, trackers, you name it then they had it. The people who were involved in the team were the best in their field. They all worked together like a well-oiled machine….well almost like a well-oiled machine.

New century plus new technology meant that better, smarter and ultimately younger pointdexters needed to be brought in. That's why General Ross wanted him. He was still young, he was able to relate to people. For all of his strength, his skills, and his fighting abilities, it really came down to him being able to hold a conversation with people.

Naturally Arthur wasn't thrilled.

Did Captain America ever win against Hitler by talking to him? No, he'd sock ol' Adolph in the jaw!

But Arthur did not go against orders. He took his mission to heart and he went to work. The first person that he was to recruit towards their noble cause was Gregory Sampson. Gregory was an awkward lanky twenty-something year old who was still living in his parents basement. Arthur held off on making any comments about what a loser Greg was. When he was eighteen, Arthur was out in the world, making his own path in life. Greg was doing nothing. Greg was playing with computer programming.

Greg talked constantly about making his own A.I. that could develop a personality the more it interacted with it's user. Arthur quickly made the "Robots take over the world" argument. Not twenty minutes later, Arthur had Greg in his truck agreeing to come abroad but would not drop the subject that an A.I. with a personality was a good thing.

Greg was a weird kid. He was weird, he didn't fit in with the whole army outfit, and he liked to squeak his shoes when he was nervous which made him annoying. Arthur hoped that the next and final person that he had to recruit wouldn't be so weird or annoying.

And then he met Susan Snow.

Arthur didn't like Susan.

She had a record a mile long. She had defaced a military base once when she was 15. She dressed like she was in a punk band.

This girl was trouble.

Arthur couldn't even imagine why General Ross would ever want someone like her involved on the project. When Arthur met Susan, she was working in a soup kitchen for veterans. At least she was capable of showing respect to servicemen. He sort of liked her then that is until she took her break, stole money from an ATM and pocketed the cash. Now he didn't like her again.

"Are you Susan Strong?" He asked as he flashed his military badge.

"No hablo Inglés." She said in a poor Spanish accent as she shoved the money underneath the dirty trays.

"Eso está bien hablo español."

"Shit." Susan sighed, her shoulders drooped in defeat. "Whatever it was, I didn't do it."

"A likely story." He pulled the money out from underneath the trays.

"Hey! That's mine!" She made a grab for it but Arthur was taller than her.

"Actually this-" he waved the fat roll of hundreds in her face. "-belongs to those nice people whose bank accounts you just stole from."

"I don't consider it stealing." Susan said crossing her arms.

"Than what do you consider it?"

"Giving to the poor what the rich can afford."

"Oh so you're really a modern day Robin Hood."

Susan threw her dish towel at him. "Yes because as you can see, I'm certainly not livin' la vida loca with all the money that I got."

"Why do I have such a hard time believing you?"

"I dunno. Maybe it's because you're an idiot?"

"You're a thief." He retorted, sneering and glaring down at her.

"I am many things but what I am is that I am good at what I do." She smirked taking the money back. "I always do background checks on everyone before I help myself and when I do take, I don't steal any more than a hundred dollars at a time." She was placing hundred dollar bill in the sandwiches and handing them out to the veterans. "You guys asked for extra lettuce, right?" She winked. Susan had been pulling this operation off for a long time.

"I know." Arthur shoved his hands in his coat pockets. "That's why I want you."

So if they hired people who most likely had warrants out for their arrest, it was still okay, right?

They stood for justice.

Turns out, General Ross wanted Greg and Susan for surveillance on some woman. The woman was a doctor at the local university, she was married to a military contractor, and she didn't do much of anything. Arthur wasn't allowed to know anything about the woman other than what General Ross had told him. That's how it was for everyone who worked on their team. Everyone was to work on their own projects and not to be preoccupied with anyone else's designate assignments. Arthur would be the first to admit that he didn't like to be kept in the dark when saving America was on the line but he didn't question orders.

Susan and Greg were the odd ones out on their team. They didn't fit in, they flippantly disobeyed orders, and refused to keep to themselves. To Arthur's horror, when Susan and Greg found out that they were going to spy on people, really anyone who had even the tiniest sliver of interaction or communication with SHIELD, they marched straight to General Ross' office and practically bust down the doors. Arthur, being General Ross' right hand man, was ordered to be their handler and to keep them from messing up any further. In the process of becoming their handler, Arthur to his mild horror, became their friend. Arthur was able to convince them to only spy on one person, the only person who Ross wanted constant surveillance on.

So if they spied on people who posed an insignificant threat to them, it was still okay, right?

They stood for peace.

Arthur became Ross' confidant. Ross came to him with all of his problems imaginary or otherwise. He talked often about his daughter, Banner, how his daughter didn't show him the respect that he was due, Banner, how his daughter refused to date anyone he set her up with, and finally Banner.

It was Arthur's great joy when Ross came to him late spring and said to him, "My girl's finally getting married! Can you believe it?"

Arthur couldn't. He'd never met Elizabeth or even seen her but from what Ross had told him about her, he had made her out to be a lifelong bachelorette. And he had been right. Ross, over the next six months, talked about nothing but how marital bliss escaped his daughter. Ross became moody. There were no words that Arthur could ever offer to cheer him up and then for the first time since the Harlem incident, they had gotten their sights on Banner.

It was a dream come true.

They set up ahead of time. They painstakingly set up their operation. They had spies everywhere. Banner showed up on the scene. He was with a woman. They were lovers. The plan went off without a hitch and Banner went down without any resistance. However, there was that woman. She had tried to fight back and then he had been ordered to dispose of her.

So if they killed an innocent it was still okay, right?

Arthur didn't know what they stood for anymore.

He now laid down in his bunk. His guilt gnawing away at him. After Banner had been secured, Arthur had been relieved of duty. He had been given a week off and was free to do whatever he pleased. He picked up his cell phone and hit his speed dial.

"Suzie? I need you."

"My door's open. You know where to find me."

* * *

Susan Snow lived, in Arthur's opinion, a bad neighborhood. She didn't live in a secure building, it didn't have a doorman, and Arthur was pretty damn sure he just saw a drug deal go down.

Nothing good happened after midnight.

He would have thought that the cold and snow would have been enough to keep the druggies off the street. Arthur parked, illegally, but who was going to give him a ticket? He had government plates on his car. He hurriedly went up to Susan's building, desperately wishing that she would move out and move in somewhere nicer. His place was closer to work, he had a three bedroom apartment. Greg crashed there often, Susan kept half of her clothes there, why not make the full transition and-Okay, getting way off topic.

First deep emotional trauma then moving in possibilities.

"Suzie? Can you buzz me in?"

"Yeah." The buzzer rang loudly. "Come on up."

Susan live on the third floor. The walk up was drafty. The floors creaked with every step that Arthur took. The numbers on Susan's door were faded and partially hanging off. He knocked twice before he was greeted by her.

"Hey there stranger." She actually hugged him. Susan was in a very happy mood. She'd never hugged him before. "Make yourself comfortable."

Susan's apartment was small and cramped. There was one couch in the living room and milkcrate furniture. He wondered briefly what she spent all her money on if she didn't spend it on herself. Susan retreated from the kitchen but not before saying, "Be careful of Greg."

Greg was slumped over on the couch.

"Whoa! Whoa! Greg!" Arthur rushed over and turned Greg over. "Buddy what happened to you? Are you alright?"

"He's okay." Susan stepped out from the kitchen with a bottle of water in her hand. She handed it to Greg who used it as a poor man's cold pad.

"Oh the things I do for love…" Greg mumbled.

"What happened?" Arthur asked again.

"Drinking contest." Greg moaned pitifully. "I don't think I've ever taken so many shots before in my life."

"You-You don't-You're not a drinker Greg." Arthur said. "You don't have any tolerance." He and Susan had tried taking Greg out for drinks on his twenty-first birthday and it had been a disaster. Greg complained of a hangover that lasted him a week. He was a lightweight.

"I know that." Greg snapped. "But it was for a worthy cause. Why are you over? Aren't you on call on nights? Did Ross change your schedule again?"

"No, no. General didn't change my schedule." Arthur became very quiet. He sat down on the couch, Greg begrudgingly made room for him. "Guys, I-I think I did something very…um very bad tonight."

"Whatever it is, we've probably done worse." Susan said comfortingly.

"I killed a person tonight."

Greg's eyes shot open. "I'm still hungover, did he say what I think he said?" Greg asked worriedly.

Arthur rubbed his hands over and over again. "I killed a person. I didn't-I don't feel like a good soldier."

"Hey, hey, hey," Susan said, still reeling from the bomb dropped on them, "Was it an accident?"

"No. It was an order." Arthur weakly chuckled. "I was ordered to let someone die."

"Okay, calm down everyone, and tell me what the hell happened."

Arthur breathed deeply. Every cell in his body was screaming at him not to betray his loyalty to their noble cause but that woman! He couldn't get her voice out of his head. She wasn't scared for herself, she was scared for their target. She didn't even protest when he tossed her away.

"The guys in division six-oh-four got a bead on our primary target."

"You found Banner?" Greg asked sitting up.

Arthur nodded. "Yeah. He had a secret rendezvous planned with some woman. They were closer than I thought they were. I think they were lovers, anyway, we ambushed and got Banner."

Susan dropped her coffee cup in shock. Greg looked as though he was going to throw up.

"You have Banner." Susan said numbly. "You have him?"

"Yeah, mission accomplished, right?" He asked nervously.

"What happened to the woman?"

"She was in the way." Arthur said uncomfortably. "She was a threat to the mission so, General Ross did what he had to, he-he had to take the shot."

Greg began to cry. "…he shot her?" Greg turned to Susan and said, "Ross shot her!" as if she hadn't heard any of the conversation. Susan sat down, her face blank, and held onto Greg as he cried freely into her blouse. "He shot her…" Greg whimpered.

"Did she die quickly?" Susan asked, her voice devoid of all emotion. "Tell me that she at least went quickly."

"She wasn't dead." Arthur swallowed hard. "She was still alive and she was…" He rubbed his face. "I wanted to get her to a hospital! But General Ross said no and that she was a traitor! He gave me the order to hide her behind the garbage."

Greg started to cry harder.

"Please, please, please for the love of God, tell me Artie that you didn't follow through." Susan begged.

"I'm a Captain! I follow orders from Generals!"

Greg wiped away his tears. "It was ten degrees outside. She wouldn't be able to…" He broke down and sobbed again. "They were so close! They were so damn close!" Greg lunged at Arthur, pushing him to the ground. "How could you?!"

"They were a threat!" Arthur now was on the verge of tears. "I was just following orders…"

"So were the Nazis." Susan bitterly said.

Arthur stood up. "That is uncalled for."

"I was just following orders. I didn't know what was on those trains. I thought they really were going to the showers." Susan's words cut through like a knife. "Congratulations. You're officially a Nazi."

"How could you kill her?" Greg asked, tears still streaming down his face. "Did you even know who she was?"

"….she…was…a…threat…" Arthur weakly offered as his argument.

"No." Susan said coldly. "She was not a threat. Her name was Elizabeth but she liked to be called Betty. She studied biology. She was a doctor. She was devastated when her mother died when she was a kid! She HATES her father." Susan was on a roll now. "She was not a threat. She and Banner were more than lovers, they were meant for each other. Artie, do you even know why Ross hates Banner?"

"He's a monster." Arthur said quietly. "He's not human."

"That woman? The one that you killed? She's Ross daughter." Greg sniffled. "She and Dr. Banner dated for a really long time. Ross never liked Dr. Banner. I remember seeing him stalk them around the campus."

"Oh my god, what have I done?"

"Well you became Nazi today, killed Betty, and handed Banner over to Ross on a silver platter. Overall, you've done a lot. Question is, what are you going to do now?" Susan asked.

Arthur's hands curled into fists. "I'm gonna go sock ol' Adolph in the jaw!"

* * *

Author's Note: Please review I want to know what you guys think of Arthur. I imagined him to be sort of like Ross' version of Coulson. He's a fanboy of Captain America but he blindly follows orders unlike Coulson who isn't afraid to break the rules.


	10. The Impossible Dream

Author's Note: Here we are, chapter ten! If I have done this right, which I doubt it, then we should be finishing up the story in ten more chapters. Also we have hit a milestone, over a thousand people have read this story. I can't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

A very special thanks to BlueEden for adding this story to your alert list. Time to answer reviews!

* * *

Mellimon: Thanks for reviewing! Regrettably, I haven't heard of Agents of SHIELD until you first brought it up. I heard it is an excellent series but I don't watch much television. Could you please bring up to speed on what's going on? I actually meant for Susan and Greg to be simply one shot characters. They were meant to help get Betty out of the house and then they were going to disappear. But I had so much fun writing them, I thought, eh why not keep them involved? And you are absolutely right, Susan, Greg, and Arthur need a team name. If you have any idea on what they should be called then I am game to hear it.

* * *

Chapter Ten: The Impossible Dream

* * *

The restrains cut into his skin and drew blood. There was one small but Hulk proof cage behind him. Intense bright lights beamed down on him. The drugs and lights made it hard to think. Bruce could feel the Other Guy, faintly, in the back of his mind, itching to get out and escape. A scientist, flanked by four of Ross' hire guns, sat across from him. The man was in a white lab coat and had a clipboard rested against his crossed legs. He looked vaguely familiar to him.

"Name?"

Bruce warily eyed the armed guards. His mind was buzzing. "Dr. Robert Bruce Banner." He dutifully replied. The scientist smiled condescendingly at him. "The creature calls itself a doctor."

_I am a doctor._

"Occupation?"

"Avenger." Bruce dared to sound proud.

"Monster." The scientist scribbled down onto his papers.

_I have helped save the world._

"Relatives?" The questioning continued on.

"The Av-" The scientist snapped his fingers once and the guards raised their guns, ready to fire. "None." It killed him to say that but he couldn't risk getting shot. If he was hurt then the Other Guy would come out and that would be giving Ross what he wanted.

_I have a family_.

The scientist was writing the information down at a furious pace but the guards did not lower their guns.

"We have information that you have tried to kill yourself?" He sneered. The man had hoped to press his buttons, perhaps cause the Other Guy to come out.

"Once." If he thought about it, he could still taste the bullet.

_I want to live._

"What method did you use?" His voice was cold. "Electrocution? Did you hang yourself? Throw yourself into a river?"

"Does it matter?"

One of the guards fired a warning shot. The bullet grazed Bruce's ear but there wasn't much he could do. The restraints weighed him down and left him helpless.

"I used a gun." Bruce managed a glare at the guards. "It didn't work." He took pride when the guard who had fired at him visibly shivered with fear.

"Have you tried-"

"I'm done answering your questions." Bruce growled. The Other Guy wanted to come out so badly. The Other Guy wanted to make them pay for hurting Betty. Internally, Bruce choked back a sob. Betty was gone because of him. Another life gone because of what he was.

The guards were on edge but the scientist was back to writing down the information.

"The creature's eyes change color when agitated." He clicked his pen and put it in his lab coat's pocket. "That concludes today's session." He smirked. "Take the creature down."

A dart came out of nowhere. Bruce yelped in pain. His world was spinning. Cold uncaring hands grabbed at him. They stripped him of his clothes and gave what was tantamount to rags. They took what they wanted from him. They shaved his hair, scraped his skin off, and took his blood. They took more than what was necessary and when they were done they threw Bruce into his cage. He writhed under the bright lights and cold that seeped into his bones and made him ache. On the bright side, the restraints had been taken off and he could now move freely.

Bruce dragged himself, his entire body felt heavy and slow, to the farthest corner, away from the cage's door. He pressed his legs close to his chest in an attempt to keep what little body heat he had. Bruce was huddled against himself. His shoulders were hunched over, his arms were tightly folded against his chest, and his head was buried between his knees in order to block out the harsh light. He slowed down his breathing. He had to sleep. His body demanded it and he didn't know when he would have another chance to rest.

It occurred to Bruce, in his drugged out mind, that thinking he could ever be with Betty, that he could ever have a life, have friends, was an impossible dream. He would always be chased after whether it was by SHIELD or Ross.

* * *

Out of respect for the dead, the trio had to go get Betty. They couldn't leave her there among the garbage. The plan was to get in Greg's truck, go to the pizza shop, and then…then they didn't really know what they would do. Susan and Greg were too upset to really put a plan together. Arthur drove.

"Here we are." He parked them behind the shop. It seemed even colder out as the trio walked down the alleyway.

"I don't like this." Greg mumbled. He stayed close to Susan. She held his hand and gave it a squeeze.

It was still heavily snowing. The alleyway was unrecognizable from how it was a mere five hours ago. Arthur led the way through the alley. His heart was beating so hard and fast, he was sure that it would wake up the entire neighborhood.

"She should be right here." Arthur said, kneeling down in the snow. He dug through it but all he found was her phone. Susan stood close to Arthur.

Greg screamed. "MOTHER OF GOD!" There was a hand on his ankle.

It was Betty.

She, despite all odds, was still alive.

"Bruce!" She gasped. "They have Bruce!"

* * *

The hospital was a sterile white and smelled like death. Greg fidgeted in his seat, his shoes squeaking against the polished floor. Nearby nurses glared at him but he couldn't help himself. He hated hospitals. Nothing good ever happened in hospitals. People were cut open, lives were lost, and now…

His eyes glanced over to the room where Betty was in. Susan and Arthur were talking to the doctors about her condition. The bullet had ripped through her. It destroyed her. It was a miracle that she was still alive.

Arthur and Susan stepped out of the room. Greg could see the gears turning in Susan's mind. He hoped that she had a plan.

"Well?"

Arthur said nothing. Guilt shrouded his eyes.

"It's not good." Susan said, sighing. "She can't breathe on her own. Her body is shutting down. The docs will get her into surgery if she ever becomes stable enough but they don't think that she's going to make it. They told us to say goodbye."

"Oh…" His shoes squeaked again. "What do we do know?"

"I've given her a fake name and history but it'll only be a matter of time before Ross finds out she's not dead." Susan rubbed her arms for warmth. "I don't know what to do."

"I do. I say we kill Ross." Arthur spoke finally. "He's insane."

"I've kept my nose relatively clean during this debacle." Greg said quietly. "I would like to not add murder to the things I've done."

"Then what do you suggest?" Arthur snapped. "Sit around and do nothing?"

"No!" He faltered. "But there's got to be something we can do, right Susan?"

Susan was silent. She shrugged her shoulders, too lost in thought. "I don't know."

"What-What if we call the Avengers?" Greg offered.

"I didn't know you had them on speed dial." Mocked Arthur. "Hello? Earth's mightiest heroes? Yes, I would like to tell you that I've kidnapped the Hulk and plan on killing him." He frowned deeply. "How do you even contact them? Is there a bat signal or something that I don't know about? Besides, Ross monitors all communications about the Avengers. If a tiny little thing about them pops up, he's sending guys out to investigate."

"That's it!" Susan exclaimed. "We'll contact the Avengers."

"Did you not hear everything that I just said?" Arthur asked, highly confused.

"Trust me on this boys, I have got a plan!"

* * *

There were very few things in Jane's opinion that matched up to waking up next to Thor in the morning. Her proud Asgardian boyfriend had dropped by late last night and they had spent a romantic evening looking at the stars and snuggling close to their campfire.

Life was good.

As Thor still slept, Jane turned on the television. She hoped to catch whatever highlights from the conference that she hadn't been able to attend. Her normal news station was disabled. All she got was a busy transmission signal. In fact, as Jane flipped through the channels that was all she got.

"Jane!" Darcy called from the living room. "Are you having any problems with your TV?"

Reluctantly, Jane left Thor's warm embrace. Shuffling into her slippers, she went to the living room. Darcy sat on the couch with her legs crossed. She furiously pressed the buttons on the remote for the slightest chance that something might work. Slevig sat next to her, enjoying the temporary silence that came with the television not working.

"My Little Pony is on. I want to see what happens between Discord and Fluttershy."

Slevig rolled his eyes. He took the remote away. "Can we please find a news station?" Like Darcy, he clicked through the static buzzing channels. The static gave way to a news station that he didn't recognize. However, forced between watching My Little Pony and searching through the abyss of static for news, Selvig settled on the news. The broadcaster was a peppy brunette with blindingly white teeth. She shuffled her papers, almost nervously, in front of the camera. It was probably her first time.

"Good morning! I'm Chatty Kathy here to bring you the latest in fashion, fun, and news. Our top story is the shocking shooting that has taken place near Culver University hotspot."

Darcy glanced up at the screen. "Oh good, murder in the morning."

"A beloved Culver University employee, Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross, was shot and left for dead late last night."

Betty's photograph flashed up on screen. The before photograph was of Betty and Bruce back when they were students at Culver. They were at a pep rally or something of that sort. Their faces were painted in school colors as a wild crowd roared behind them. Bruce was holding Betty's hand and laughing as she made a silly face at the camera. The after picture was much grimmer. Betty was hooked up to the ventilation machine. Thousands of wires and what not were over her. There was a disturbing amount of blood emergency room floor. Betty looked like she was less than a person.

The results were chilling.

"Tha-That's Lee…" Jane breathed out. "That's Elizabeth Lee. What happened to her?"

"Despite the weather and trauma, Dr. Ross is still alive and is resting at Sacred Heart hospital. However, authorities are highly concerned about the crime in question. Dr. Ross had told friends earlier on in the week that she was meeting up with an old friend, possibly a boyfriend by the way she was dressed. There were signs of a struggle, presumably from Dr. Ross' friend. Police think that this may have been a kidnapping and Dr. Ross was collateral damage."

"Collateral damage…" Selvig chuckled cynically. "Is that what they're calling people's lives now?"

Chatty Kathy, still smiling as though she had won the lottery and could retire went on to say, "Police ask the public to be please come forward with any information that they might have on Dr. Ross and who she might have been meeting with." Chatty Kathy beamed. "That's our mourning report, please stayed tune for the highest rated puppy video on YouTube."

Darcy fumbled for the remote and turned off the television. "What's going on?"

* * *

Across the country, Pepper's morning cup of coffee shattered against the floor. She watched in horror as a pictures of a cheerful woman switched to a woman on her death bed. Seeing Bruce in the before picture sent a wave of panic through her. It _could_ all be a coincidence. Bruce _could_ possibly not know the dying woman in the hospital.

"JARVIS?" Pepper tried to fight down the climbing worry, "What time did Bruce come home last night?"

"_I have no record of Dr. Banner entering the Tower, miss_."

It was a possibility, Pepper thought, that the weather was too bad last night. He could have checked into a hotel somewhere, right? Pepper grabbed her phone from the table. She dialed away.

"Please pick up, please pick up Bruce…." She waited anxiously. Each ring that passed only made her more nervous. "Come on, pick up…"

"_The number you have reached is no longer in service._" A cheerful automated voice chirped. "_Please_-"

Pepper shut her phone off. She felt sick.

"JARVIS?"

"_Yes Miss Potts_?"

"Where is everyone?"

"Sir is in Malibu working on a project that he has dubbed "the single greatest thing that he's has ever done"-" JARVIS sounded slightly offended. "Captain Rodgers is still in D.C., Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barton have evaded me. Their locations are unknown however, Mr. Odinson is in New Mexico."

"JARVIS, assemble the Avengers and get me Phil."

* * *

An hour after the broadcast, Susan was still wiping off the heavy duty stage makeup. Her brunette wig had been discarded, her bright blue contacts were gone, but her teeth were still an unnatural shade of white.

"Seriously Greg," she shouted over the running water from Arthur's bathroom, "Chatty Kathy? I sound like a crappy eleven year old girl's dolly." No matter how hard she scrubbed, the makeup stayed on. It was resilient stuff. "I should strangle you."

"I thought you were great." Arthur said slightly smirking. "Besides, it's for a good cause."

Greg, who was sitting cross legged on a footstool nearby, asked, "Do you think they got the message?"

"Hopefully it came in loud n' clear." Susan groaned. Now it looked like she had a bad tan.

* * *

Author's Note: Hey guys, thanks for reading. Please review or add this story to your favorites or alert list. Have a lovely day!


	11. It's A Small World

Author's Note: Hey Guys! I just to say that your support means everything to me. A big thanks to BGPixieQueen77 for adding this to your alert list and favorite list. Also thank you very much abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz666 for adding this to your favorite list. I deeply appreciate it. Time to answer reviews!

* * *

Guest: I'm so happy that you like Betty. Her character has been a constant source of worrying for me. I don't want to make her seem weak in a world full of superheroes but at the same time, I'm terrified that she'll turn into a Mary Sue.

* * *

Chapter Eleven: It's A Small World

* * *

He was never going to leave Bruce alone again. He was going to sew a tracking device into all of Bruce's clothes, and have JARVIS give him hourly updates on what his science bro was doing, and if an update was missed then Tony would suit up and fly to wherever the hell Bruce was to see if he was okay.

"Can't this thing go any faster!?" He shouted at Happy who was driving. They were on their way to Sacred Heart hospital to meet up with Pepper. Tony didn't trust himself to drive. If he was in the driver's seat he probably would have blown through every single red light that dared to go off.

"We're _nearly_ there."

"I'm sorry." Tony grumbled. "But-"

"I got it." Happy would not have worked for Tony for so long if he couldn't handle a run of the mill outburst. Well this wasn't run of the mill, or he hoped that people being kidnapped wouldn't soon become run of the mill. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

Happy had been called by a very worried Pepper to pick Tony up the second the jet landed. All she had told him was that Bruce had been kidnapped by people or persons unknown and that was it.

"It's Ross." Tony growled. "He's behind this. I know it."

Ross; just thinking of that asshole's name puts him on edge. The slimy bastard dressed up as a respected General who only wants to protect the world from the big bad Hulk. He doesn't know the specifics of how Ross got anywhere near Bruce let alone captured him but he'll be damned if he'll ever let it happened again. Happy pulls the car into the parking lot but Tony jumps out of it before he puts it in park.

"Hey! Wait up!" Happy called after him. "_TONY_!"

But Tony is gone. He's already running in the hospital, speeding down the halls, earning more than a glare from the various nurses and doctors. He arrives just in time to see Thor, a woman who he doesn't know, and the love of his life, Pepper, staring down a very smug looking Ross. Tony's skin crawls. If Ross is looking smug then Bruce is in trouble.

"Ah Mr. Stark, not wearing any of your suits today?"

He ignores the jab. "Where the hell is he?"

"I'm afraid that I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then let me put it in a language that you can understand: Where is he, you motherfucker?"

Ross stares at Tony then he smirks. "Do you mean Banner?" He laughs. Ross actually fucking laughs. "All this time…" he mutters before saying, "You're concerned for the monster? That's why the great Tony Stark is slumming it? That's why you all are here? Because of the monster?"

"We're here for Elizabeth Lee." Jane says crossing her arms. "She was fine two days ago and now she's dying." Thor puts a gentle but large hand on her shoulder but he's got his hammer (How did he get that past the front door Tony will never know.) in his other hand, ready to strike if needed.

"Mrs. Talbot." The General corrects and Tony feels like he's been punched. "She is Mrs. Glenn Talbot and my daughter."

Now he feels like someone's ripped out his arc reactor.

"You…have a daughter?" Tony manages to choke out. The idea that anyone would willingly marry Ross, let alone have a daughter with him is making Tony lightheaded. Where's a scotch when you need one?

"Sh-She's not married." The woman, he's pretty sure that she's with Thor the way he standing so close to her. "She's not. She's in love with some guy named Bruce."

Now he really needs that drink. Bruce having a fling with a married woman who happens to be Ross' daughter? Damn. That's a double whammie. And Bruce had the nerve to tell him that he had no sense of preservation. He didn't go around sleeping with the enemy.

Ross pulls out his wallet. He's still got that smirk on his face as he shows off pictures of the wedding.

"Isn't she beautiful?" He gladly passes the photos around. "She's wearing her mother's dress."

Thor sneers. "Bruce Banner is a good honorable man. I do not believe he would seduce a married woman."

Point Break has a point, Tony thinks. This is Bruce that they're talking about. He isn't some romance novel guy come to rescue and ravish a woman from her marriage but a wonderful, kind, timid man who has the patience of a saint. He suddenly thinks of Bruce, shirt ripped open, dark curly locks of hair flying in the wind, as he passionately kisses the swooning woman. Tony stifles a chuckle until he comes upon a darker thought. Ross' daughter under daddy dearest's command going out to seduce his science bro. She luring him away from the safety of the Tower straight to Ross' clutches. Suddenly, Tony has nothing but hate and disdain for the dying woman.

She's the reason why he's lost Bruce.

"Have any of you ever considered that the reason why you can't find him or why my daughter is now on her deathbed is because Banner put her there?"

The entire hallway goes silent but everyone can feel the fury oozing from Tony. He takes one step forward, he doesn't know what he's going to do to Ross-Pepper beats Tony to Ross. She took two steps to him and belted Ross. Tony blinked. All he saw was Pepper moving and now Ross in on his backside and there's blood on the floor.

Oh, how he loves Pepper.

She is such a badass. She doesn't take any of his crap and she isn't going to take any of Ross'.

"I think it would be wise for you to not further anger Lady Potts." Thor rumbles to Ross. He looks like Christmas or whatever the Asgard equivalent of has come early.

"How dare you-" Ross mumbles through his fat fingers and blood.

"No." Tony and everyone else cringes when they hear the ice cold, barely holding back her anger, tone. He's heard _that_ tone on a handful of occasions and when he's been on the receiving end of _that _tone, it's never been good. "How dare you even begin to insinuate that Bruce would ever be abusive to anyone." She hisses. "The man is incapable of raising a hand in violence. He would never hurt a fly."

"I've seen what he's done." Ross shakily stands up. Tony's surprised that he can. The last time Pepper punched someone out, they were dead to the world. "He's a monster that's masquerading as a man. I've seen the footage of Manhattan. You all can pretend that he's not a monster but he is." Ross huffs. "If my daughter dies, Banner dies."

"Should any harm befall my friend, you will know the wrath of Thor." Everyone can hear the thunder outside.

There's about to be a fight between Thor and Ross and Tony's got good money that there will soon be a Ross shaped hole in the wall. However, as much as he wants to see Ross squished like the bug that he is, who should come along but Agent?

"Gentlemen…" Coulson easily breaks up the pending fight. He looks pleasantly surprised when he sees Ross still bleeding from Pepper's punch. "General Ross, sir, do you know you're bleeding?"

"Yes, I am quite aware of it." He's already stuffing his nose up with a handkerchief. "Are you here to reign in your freak show?"

"No, I'm here to collect Mrs. Talbot."

Ross goes slack jaw and it's a beautiful sight to see him lose some of that overconfidence. "For what purpose?" He blusters.

"An Avenger has gone missing. Mrs. Talbot was the last one to see Dr. Banner. She is a valuable witness. Whoever has taken Dr. Banner than it can be safe to assume that they would not think much of killing a defenseless witness."

"You can't-"

"Oh yes I can and I have." Mrs. Talbot is already on SHIELD's helicopter so if you don't mind…" He urges everyone to leave and to get to the helicopter before someone else throws a punch, "…we'll be leaving now. Have a nice day General Ross."

* * *

There wasn't much room on the helicopter. Thor takes up half of the space and that's not even counting Betty's cumbersome hospital bed and everything else needed to keep her alive. The other woman, Jane, is sitting on Thor's lap. She kept staring at Betty. Everyone was staring at Betty, at this woman who was involved with Bruce and Ross.

"My daughter…" Thor mumbles in a quiet voice, catching everyone's attention.

"What's that Point Break?"

"My daughter." Thor says a bit louder. He glances over to Betty. "That is how he always refers to Betty; as _his_ daughter. Does the General not remember her name? Or is it normal for men in his position of power to refer to daughters as though they are property?"

The realization hits them all with the subtly of a brick wall but Tony's opinion of Betty is unwavering. He can't help but stare at her as she clings to life. He assumes that underneath the bandages, IVs, and whatever else is keeping her heart pumping that she must be fairly pretty. But Tony's never been with "fairly pretty" women. Why have a six when you can have tens across the board?

Bruce isn't a slouch in the looks department. It only makes sense that he would go after someone that he would consider beautiful. Is Betty intelligent? Most likely. She has to be brilliant. Tony can't see Bruce ever settling for someone who couldn't stimulate him intellectually.

That's what makes this whole thing ever stranger.

Bruce is a genius. He's damn smart and isn't the type to go run off with some woman. This was a project that took time. Tony concludes of some sort of brainwashing maybe a drug or something was involved that allowed Betty to seduce and kidnapped his science bro.

That makes sense.

Ross orders Betty to track Bruce down, Bruce goes with her unaware of the danger, Betty drugs him or whatever, Bruce reacts, he Hulks out or again whatever, Betty gets rightfully hurt for even trying to sell Bruce out to Ross, and now here they are.

And Tony was still Bruce-less.

And Bruce was in danger.

And what were they doing about it?

There's this horrible hacking sound that breaks Tony's concentration. Betty's body is writhing under the medical equipment. Coulson makes it to her bed in a heartbeat.

"Mrs. Talbot?" Calling her that increased the frequency of her thrashing. "You have been shot and have a tube in your throat to help you breathe. You have to relax-"

She was not scared. Mrs. Talbot was glaring at him through the bandages. Coulson knew that if she was able bodied, she probably would have attempted to strangle him. And Coulson was right. Betty had no intention of relaxing or lying down. Her shaky hands ripped out the IVs, doing more harm than good, and the tube that was lodged in her throat. Betty gags and gasps for air. Her entire body feels like it's on fire. Physically, she feel like she's burning but mentally, she's never been better.

The first thing out of her mouth is "Where's Bruce?" and "Who the fuck are you people?"

Should she be in incredible pain?

Yes.

Should she have hypothermia?

Yes.

Should she be dead?

Yes…if not for that tiny bit of blood she had gotten from Bruce.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter. I haven't been feeling so good but please if you have the time, review. Have a nice day!


	12. Mistreated

Author's Note Hi guys! So I totally miscalculated when this story would be over. I have no idea when it's going to end. Time to answer reviews!

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Guest: Thank you so much for reviewing. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and expect more plot twists to come.

Mellimon: I completely understand midterms and college and everything else that goes with it. I'm juggling my classes between writing. I like GSA for the OOC team. It suits them. Also, Betty will have an expanded role in Bruce' rescue.

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Chapter Twelve: Mistreated

* * *

Dr. Knox couldn't help but marvel at the man currently cowering in the cell below him. Oh, how he had heard stories of this divine man who broke all the scientific community rules when he turned green. Fingers pressed closely to the glass in the observation room, Knox watched Dr. Robert Bruce Banner fell into a fitful sleep once more. Knox wondered what he was thinking, dreaming, wondering about. Did he dream? Did the monster within in dream too? Or did they share one mind and-oh there were so many questions.

"Is the creature out?" Knox thinks so but there are trained scientists who have that area covered.

"Yes sir."

"Excellent. Have the sedation needles prepared." Knox can't help but smile. "I'm going in there."

Instantly, there is shouting and a scramble for safety from the other scientists. "Sir that is a terrible idea. The monster is easily provoked! It's a death wish."

"Nonsense." Knox said with a wave of his hand. "I'm going in now, prepare the sedation needles in case the creature wakes up."

"We have a limited number of those needles." A lab assistant cried.

"Then get more." Knox snapped.

"We've tried but Stark Industries refuse to supply us with anymore until-"

"I don't want to hear it. That is Ross' problem. Prepare the needles!"

Knox descended the stairs. His eyes never leaving Banner's sleeping form. The cell door slid open with a quiet _whish_. Knox stepped quietly over to Banner, his anticipation growing with every passing second. He crouched down, surprised that Banner had not yet woken to his presence, and gently brushed his index finger across Banner's cheek.

He was an incredibly handsome man there was no doubt about that but Knox wanted to see the monster.

He had seen the monster before but on television screens and blurry cell phone footage. He wanted to see the monster in person. That incredible power harassed by Banner and Banner alone. All of the bloodwork they had done was inconclusive. There was no way of telling how Banner had achieved this marvelous monster.

Knox had been told that Banner had suffered some sort of catastrophic lab accident which thus created the Hulk but all attempts to recreate the Hulk ended in failure. The people who had "volunteered" all ended up dying. As soon as the experiment was over, right after they had been treated to a high dose of gamma radiation, they developed lesions and dropped dead. Lab animals hadn't fared much better than people. They developed some abnormal abilities, they were stronger than normal, their senses were heightened but only hours after the experiments, they died too.

It was infuriating.

Banner taunted his strength, his power, in front of them in the form of a humble and ordinary man and they were left clueless how to replicate it. Ross had been slightly helpful in the pursuit of Banner's secrets. He had suggested that raising Banner's stress levels was integral to unleashing the monster. So they went with Ross' wisdom.

They kept him isolated.

They kept him cold.

They deprived him of food and water.

They put him under constant surveillance.

They kept him under lights that deprived him of sleep.

They put him through invasive tests.

These measures broke men and yet, Banner was resilient.

At the end of it all, when they were done with him and had gotten, for now, what they wanted from him, Banner would limp, crawl, or drag himself to his corner in his cell and sleep. Yes, sometimes he would jerk awake screaming but most times he was quiet. He was so quiet that if Knox hadn't been in the cell at the moment, he would have assumed that Banner had escaped.

Banner's eyes flashed open.

They were a lovely shade of green.

The beast was present.

In one swift motion, Banner was up and Knox was thrown halfway across the room. The lab assistants went to work. Sedation needles flew into the room, striking Banner down. Banner went limp and fell to the cell's floor but he was still awake. He struggled to get up and when he saw that there weren't any more needles to be shot into him, he smiled.

A low guttural growl was heard. The telltale flush of green came over Banner's features.

Knox was paralyzed by the horror of an imminent transformation and the beauty of it. A pair of old but steady hands pulled him from the cell and put it on lockdown. The furious roars of the Hulk shattered the once quiet beeping of the room.

"Would it kill you not to molest the monster?" Ross growled.

"I can't help it!" Knox defended. "The creature-it's extraordinary."

Ross tunes Knox out. He's heard this speech more than once. Knox is a brilliant scientist, nowhere near Banner or Stark's level but he's brilliant nonetheless. The only problem that Knox has is his strange admiration with the Hulk.

"You used up all of the drugs. Do you want that-"

"You were the one who ordered double shots around the clock. He's been in captivity for less than two days."

"We are dealing with a monster who leveled Harlem. Better safe than sorry."

"I see." Knox stood up, brushing the nonexistent dust off his lab coat. "Where were you? We were meant to start the electrode tests and-"

"SHIELD is onto us." Ross said, barely holding back his anger. "_Somehow_ they know we have Banner." Ross paused and then said, "Get me Captain Lee. _Now_."

* * *

Arthur, briskly walking down the halls, knew that something was horribly wrong. He had expected the Avengers to be storming the compound. Where were they? Did they not care that one of their teammates had been kidnapped? He thought that he, Susan, and Greg had gotten their message across to the right people but now he didn't know. Arthur assumed that SHIELD would at least make an effort to take back one of their scientist but maybe Banner was too much of a liability for them.

There were too many variables and he didn't like it.

Part of him wanted to go straight to the Avengers Tower but that was a bad idea all around. Ross had constant surveillance of known Avengers and their allies. Susan's little show was the easiest way to get into contact with the Avengers that wouldn't blow his or Susan and Greg's cover. Pushing the door open, Arthur saw Ross a drink in hand and Dr. Knox.

"Sir."

"At ease."

Arthur nodded but kept his rigid stance.

"Gentleman, we have a fox in the hen house." Ross said, his words slightly slurred. "Prepare to move the operation."

Knox sighed heavily. "This will be difficult. How long do we have before the creature is once again active?"

"We have roughly six hours. Get moving."

"Sir?" Arthur swallowed hard. "I have to say that we shouldn't move. Doing so increases the chances of the Hulk being unleashed. Any attempt to move the project could result in high causalities both military and civilian-"

"Bah!" Ross downed his drink in one gulp. "Soldier, if there's one thing that I know it's the ends justify the means. I do not need SHIELD or the fucking Avengers ruining our operation or destroying _our_ hard work.

Arthur tried to ignore how his skin crawled when Ross said our hard work. There was nothing he could do that could ever clean his slate.

"I have a special mission for you."

"Yes sir?"

Ross threw down two heavy files onto his desk. Arthur picked them up. They were Susan's and Greg.

"We're cleaning house. Kill them."

Arthur chuckled. "Sir, as I recall, you fired Ms. Snow and Mr. Sampson. They are harmless. There's no need to-"

"Captain Lee, I am giving you an order. Kill them. It won't be long before SHIELD finds them and that makes a liability. I don't care how you do it but do it. Bash their heads in, cut the brakes in their cars, or shoot them point blank in the head. I don't care just get it done. Now onto the next mission, I've already had you transferred over. Do you know of Lieutenant-Colonel James Rhodes? You'll be working close with him. He friends Stark. He's something like Stark's nanny or babysitter." Another drink for Ross gone in a flash. "You'll be our mole. Get Rhodes drunk, the man can't hold his liquor, and get information-

"No." Arthur stood his ground.

"Excuse me?" Ross chuckled as he poured himself another drink. "Soldier, I'm not sure I heard you correctly. What did you say?"

"No. I said no." Arthur's palm was itching for his pistol. "I will _not_ take advantage of Lieutenant-Colonel Rhodes, I will _not_ spy for you, and I will _fucking not_ kill Susan and Greg."

The glass slipped from Ross' hand. "So you're the mole. Oh, Captain Lee." Ross shook his head. "I expected better from you. You had so much potential." Ross drew his gun and shot Arthur.

The bullet was lodged in his left shoulder but it did little to slow him down. Arthur had youth and a steady hand on his side. He quickly pulled his pistol out and shot Ross. Arthur did not aim to kill but to delay. Bolting out of the room, just as Ross began ranting and raving, Arthur got on his cell.

"Suzie? I-"

"What's up? Is everything okay? You sound-"

"I'm fine." He already in the elevator, a few more floors to go and he would be out. "I've been shot and-"

"_WHAT THE FUCK!?"_ She screeched into his ear. Arthur held his cell at an arm's length away. "_YOU'VE BEEN SHOT?! You were supposed to go in and keep us posted and you've been fucking shot_?!"

"Shut up and listen to me, please." Arthur was running faster than he had ever run in his life. He hopped into a jeep and took off. "Ross knows, okay? He _knows_ about you and Greg and everything."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Find Lieutenant-Colonel Rhodes and we'll take it from there."

"On it."

* * *

Stark Industries' logo was posted everywhere. Bruce huddled in his cell corner doing his best to avoid it.

**I hate Tony.**

"Shush."

**Smash Tony.**

"Be quiet."

**Kill Stark.**

"Shut up. Why won't you shut up?" Bruce moaned. He hadn't meant to Hulk out but the Other Guy saw an opportunity to get out of this hellhole and he went for it. Bruce had, ultimately, let him. He was so tired and needed some relief.

**He hurt us.**

Bruce rested his head against the class. "Yeah…Betty was right." He should have never trusted Tony. It was too good to be true. "Kill Stark…". There was a sudden lurch. Bruce was sent sprawling to the ground.

**Smash?**

"No…" Bruce said carefully. He tried to stand up. His steps were unsteady. His movements were jerky. He looks like a puppet whose strings that were tangled. There was nothing to hold onto in the cell. Another lurch sent him back onto the ground. He couldn't stand up. His legs felt like jelly. The cell was being lifted up and being put into a large van. Fifty soldiers surrounded the cell. They were armed to the teeth with Stark Industries weapons. Those would hurt him if he tried to escape. Bruce didn't have the energy to book it.

"The creature is secured. Proceed move out."

Bruce curled up again. He sank deeper into despair.

This wasn't good.

* * *

"You are extremely lucky."

"I would not call getting shot "extremely lucky"." Growled Ross. He had another drink in his left hand as Knox stitched up his right. "That little punk-"

"He could have shot you in your head but he didn't. You are extremely lucky."

"Are you done yet?" He snapped. Whether Knox was done or not, Ross decided that he was. He pulled away. He stood in front of his desk and pressed a button. Fifteen old men showed up on a holographic screen via Stark Industries.

"General Ross." They greeted rather stiffly.

"Gentlemen."

"We understand that you have used up a three month supply of sedation needles." The oldest and grayest man said.

"You would be correct."

"General Ross, you do understand the risks of our agreement-"

"Members of the board, I am well aware of our agreement and the risks. You supply me with needles powerful enough to keep Banner under and I convince Mr. Stark to go back into producing weapons."

"We have fulfilled our part of the bargain, you have yet to uphold your part. We have received notice from Ms. Potts that the rest of the shutdowns are scheduled this week."

Ross smiled icily. "Nothing would give me more pleasure than to have Stark producing weapons again, however, you have yet to fulfill your part. Banner was shot with twenty needles and yet he still had the energy to Hulk out."

The old men murmured anxiously. "That's impossible. We've done our research. The Hulk should not-"

"The point isn't whether the monster should but the point that he did." Ross finished his drink and poured himself another one. "Your sedation needles are inferior."

"Look here Ross, we are playing the cards that we are given. We can't push our resources any further. With the looming shutdowns there will be no way that we can supply our "inferior" needles. Get Stark to start up the weapons development and then we'll talk."

The holographic screen disappeared just as Ross threw his drink at it.

* * *

Author's Note: Please review if you have the time. I love knowing what you guys think.


	13. Another One Bites the Dust

Author's Note: I'm back and I've written myself into a corner. Damn it. Whatever. Let's give a special thanks to kirzty990 for adding this story to the favorites list.

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Alethea 13: Hi! I'm so sorry, if things were clear. This is totally my fault, I didn't really write out the past couple of chapters well. I'm so sorry. To clarify, the Avengers do know that Bruce has been kidnapped, it's just a matter of assembling the team. Bruce isn't being brainwashed to kill Tony. That's just the Hulk talking to Bruce/himself. He's upset because he thinks that Tony betrayed him/Bruce and his first instinct is to…well smash. Bruce is tired and agrees simply to shut the Hulk up. He has no intention to smash or kill Tony. Terribly sorry about the confusion. I hope that you enjoy this chapter.

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Chapter Thirteen:Another One Bites the Dust

* * *

Rhodey liked to think that in the face of danger, which often came from being associated with Tony, he could handle himself. Is Tony going on a bender again? A little playful smack down never hurt anyone. Hijacked suit? No problem. President in danger? He's got this. If there was ever a problem, he could handle it with the sheer badassery that was him.

However, upon coming home that late Friday night, Rhodey was exhausted didn't want to deal with the normal risks and danger that stumbled into his life. He didn't get that. Promptly pulling into his driveway, he was met with a firefight with black ops. Apparently, his home was the perfect place for three (Teenagers? Young adults?) to start a fight. The highly trained men were shooting-strike that-killing them. By the time, Rhodey had properly armed himself with the small but highly effective pistol, the black ops were gone and the unfortunate victims were already dead.

Except for one.

He was a young man who was bleeding out on Rhodey's yard. He choked and sputtered blood as he desperately tried to cling onto life. But there was no hope for him. He knew this very well as did Rhodey but Rhodey knew that if he was dying, he would want someone to give him comfort in his last moments.

"Kid don't worry, you're going to be okay. The paramedics are on their way."

That was a boldfaced lie but still, it wasn't like Rhodey lived in the middle of nowhere. Someone must have called for help.

"Greg." The young man rasped.

"Greg? Is that your name?"

Greg nodded pitifully. His entire body felt on fire. He glanced up and saw Susan and Arthur, lying not too far away from each other. Their hands were grasped together. They had died running away from the bullets. Greg never thought that it would have ended like this.

"Greg, don't try to talk, you'll-"

"Banner…" Greg refused to die like this. He would do as much as he could to spite Ross. "He-He's in…trouble. Ross…" Greg couldn't get his mouth to work. His brain felt like it was melting. "Ross…"

"You have to remain-"

Why couldn't this man understand what he was saying? "ROSS!" Greg said panicked that he would die without anyone realizing what was occurring. "ROSS!" He screeched. "Ross, he's-" Greg groaned. He could feel it: Death. Things were going hazy. "Stark…Stark he's being used…" He gasped, his vision was going. "Banner. Danger…" And that was Greg's final word.

Rhodey stood up. His hands were covered in blood. He saw the flashing lights of the ambulance in the not too far off distance.

* * *

Steve didn't like to think of himself as a possessive person but when he heard that Bruce had been kidnapped, all he could think was someone had hurt _his _teammate. His team was in trouble. His team, his team, his team, Steve was determined that he would not lose another person. No one would hurt his team. Steve arrived at the Tower where he was greeted by Coulson who look characteristically grim.

"Cap." Coulson nodded as they took to the main common room floor.

"I got here as soon as I could." He apologized. "What's our situation?"

They got into the elevator. Steve found himself wishing that the elevator could go faster. He felt useless. He was a soldier. Soldiers were meant for action.

"There's a meeting as soon as we get to the floor."

"Who attending?"

"Fury is already up to speed. It's you, Clint, and Natasha."

Steve felt slightly better that he wasn't the only one out of the loop. "Where's Thor and Tony? Do they already know or-"

"Thor and Stark are babysitting our best lead to find Bruce."

Confusion washed over Steve. He had been under the assumption that they had no leads. Pepper hadn't given him very much over the phone but she had made it painfully clear that Bruce was gone and that he had to get back to New York as soon as possible.

"We have a lead?"

Coulson nodded again and pulled up on his tablet of a fairly pretty woman with long black hair.

"Her name is Mrs. Elizabeth Talbot. She is currently being examined by SHIELD's physicians."

They made it to the common room floor. Clint and Natasha were already waiting for them. They were both on edge. Natasha sat on the couch, radiating in silent fury. She had a knife in her hand and was twirling it about. Her eyes were cold and calculating. Steve could see the gears turning in her mind, planning the best way to slice the throat of her next target. Clint sat on the arm of the couch. He was playing with the head of an arrow. He mouth was contorted into a permanent sneer. Steve hadn't seen Clint this pissed off since Loki stepped into his mind.

"Steve." Natasha said coolly.

"Hey Cap."

Steve sat down, far away from Natasha and her twirling blade.

"Shall we begin?" Coulson started the slideshow. "Yesterday at roughly eight p.m. Bruce was kidnapped by people or persons unknown. First and only suspect is one General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and his daughter Elizabeth Ross." Photos of Bruce, Ross, and Betty lined the holographic screen. "Ross is in charge of the super soldier serum and he commissioned Bruce to lead the project."

"What were they trying to do?" Steve asked.

"They were trying to recreate your success." Clint answered. "Ross wanted an army of Captain Americas."

The slideshow pulled up a clip of blurry security footage. There was Bruce, in a white lab coat. He was on the computers, focused solely on his work. Halfway through, the footage glitched. Bruce was suiting up and entering in a chamber off to the right. Ross was pacing back and forth in the lab. He was watching Bruce like a hawk. Ross leaned over the shoulder of one woman whose back was turned from the camera.

Then it happened.

There was an explosion that rock the entire lab. A familiar and ferocious roar filled the common room.

"The Hulk…" Natasha murmured. She held her knife closer to her as though it was a security blanket against the green monster capable of ripping her to pieces. It was foolish. It was only a hologram but still the fear was there.

The security footage cut out and when it came back on, the lab was utterly destroyed. Bodies littered the floor. It was chilling to see. The only survivors were the woman whom Ross had been talking to and Ross himself. Coulson paused the video and enlarged it. It was grainy and it made it difficult to tell who was who.

"We believe that this woman is Elizabeth now married as Mrs. Talbot." Coulson said, pointing to the blurry picture of the woman curled up. "After the Hulk's creation, she was in placed in the intensive care unit for three months."

"You think she holds a grudge against Bruce?" Natasha's eyes never left the Betty's photo.

"To the best of our knowledge, yes. There isn't much information on Mrs. Talbot or her work on the project. Once it all went south, Ross made it a priority to seal or destroy most of the paperwork. She barely exists."

Steve folded his arms. "It makes sense. Ross has been hunting Bruce forever. Bruce is his Moby Dick. It's only a matter of time before he realizes that bigger guns aren't going to take Bruce down."

"A pretty face isn't how you lure Bruce away." Natasha said knowingly. A poor child begging for help? That had sent Bruce running right towards her without a second thought.

"No but guilt just might do it. Back in Alaska, Bruce was babbling about how he hurt someone named Betty. Elizabeth is a pretty common name. How many nicknames can it have?" Clint shrugged. "Bruce is a naturally guilty guy. He feels bad about everything, even breathing. It's near the holidays, what's to say that Bruce didn't go to make amends to the Hulk's first victim?"

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for this short chapter. I have got writers' block and nothing that I type seems good enough. Please if you have the time, review and let me know what I'm doing right or wrong.


	14. Poor Communication Kills

Author's Note: Welcome back to the latest installment of Back to You. I hope you enjoy the chapter. And thank you Tt 45 and Bazingababe28 for adding this story to your alert and favorite list. It means a lot to me to get the support.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: One Tin Soldier a.k.a. Poor Communication Kills

* * *

She sat stiffly on the examination table. Her eyes were fixated on the two way mirror. Betty knew who was behind it: Tony Stark and Thor. A sneer came onto her face thinking about the two. Betty's mood did not improve when she had realized how much time had passed since Bruce had been kidnapped. So much time had gone. What were the stats for kidnapping again? No, what were the stats for when a psychotic general kidnapped the man of his obsession? She got chills thinking from it. Either Ross had outright killed Bruce or was working to cut him open and pull the Hulk out. There was no good option. There never was when Ross was part of the equation. And here she was. SHIELD was working in tandem with Stark and he brought her to the Tower and were forcing her to undergo a medical checkout whether she liked it or not.

"Name?" The doctor asked.

"Doctor Betty."

"_Full_ name?"

Betty didn't answer.

The doctor examining her sighed and wrote down, "Mrs. Elizabeth Talbot."

"_Doctor_ Betty." She hissed. "My name is Betty. I earned my PhD."

The doctor flipped through a hefty stack of papers clipped to his clipboard. "My records indicate that you're mar-"

"Say that word and I will put your head through that mirror." Betty said coldly. "Tell Stark I'm not here for his observation." She stared directly at the mirror. "You can't keep me here. I swear the second your backs are turned, I'm running and you will never find me or Bruce."

A loud sound radiated from behind the mirror. Betty had been right. Tony and Thor were watching from behind the mirror and Tony, angered at Betty, ended up punching the wall.

"Calm yourself." Thor said. His arms were crossed. He considered putting Tony out of the room. He was far too volatile at the moment to work to find Bruce.

"She's the reason why Bruce is gone and you want me to be calm?" Tony fumed. "Why aren't-"

"I am upset." Thor answered but his tone was steady and even. "But I have made the mistake of allowing my temper to cloud my judgement. It cost me greatly. I refuse to let it happen again. For Bruce's sake we must let cooler heads prevail and at the moment, Lady Betty-"

"Talbot." Tony corrected partly out of spite to Betty.

"Lady Talbot is due the respect that a lady deserves."

"_Sir, Captain Rodgers has been brought up to speed_." JARVIS chimed in.

"Took him long enough."

"_And a new theory has emerged to the kidnapping of Dr. Banner_."

"Please ethereal voice, continue."

"Agent Coulson has discovered file footage from the creation of the Hulk. Ms. Talbot was present and became severely injured. Medical records for Ms. Talbot indicate that her recovery took an extraordinary amount of time. She returned to her position at Culver University only to go on a permanent sabbatical soon afterwards. She has rarely made any public appearances. The rest of the Avengers believe that Ms. Talbot's involvement in Dr. Banner's kidnapping was motivated by revenge."

"Her work was important to her?" Thor asked.

"_Ms. Talbot was held in high regard in her field. I imagine she took the loss quiet hard."_

Losing everything because of one stupid incident? Thor could relate, too much he was afraid. He stole a glance over to Betty. She still held her glare. Her eyes were full of hate and anger and, dare he even say, sadness and worry. Underneath, the bitterly cold and uncaring hate there was more. There was so much more but no one saw it except for Thor. Betty's anger was born from worry.

"Sir, Lieutenant-Colonel Rhodes is on his way."

"Send him up. I need to talk to him." Tony left and Thor having mixed emotions about the whole affair chose to leave too. He felt the need to speak to his fellow Avengers but he was intercepted by Jane.

"We need to talk."

At once, Thor remembered every single thing he had done that could have possibly offended her. It was one of those phrases that can do that to a person.

"About what?" He cautiously asked.

* * *

It was at times like these that made Tony want to pick up a bottle of vodka and down it. He needed a release but drinking meant that Pepper would be upset and she would guilt trip him on how much Bruce hated it when he drank which would make him feel more upset. This would lead to him still wanting to drink but now Bruce wouldn't leave his mind and how hurt Pepper would be if he did actually drink.

He missed his vices.

"Tony!" Rhodey was in military mode judging by the way he walked towards him. "We need to talk."

"Same here. What do you know about a General Ross?"

Rhodey managed a chuckle. "The man is certifiably insane. He runs this division, a super secret operation, towards capturing-" Tony threw a punch at him.

"_YOU KNEW_?!"

He was a Lieutenant-Colonel for nothing. He easily dodged the punch by grabbing Tony's arm and twisting it behind Tony's back. Rhodey pushed Tony against the wall to stop anymore attacks.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"_YOU KNEW_!" Tony shouted. "_You knew that son of a bitch was after Bruce and you didn't tell me!?_" He struggled to escape the tight grip Rhodey had on him. "Let go of me damn it!"

"Not until you calm the fuck down."

"Rhodey, when I get my suit on, I'm going to kill you."

"See that? That's not calming down."

"JARVIS! Execute defensive protocol 7-A3!"

"_Sir, I do believe that now, of all times, would be the best to lower your blood pressure._"

Betrayed by his own A.I. How cruel…

Tony sighed and eased up. "Did you know?"

"No."

"Rhodey, if you did-"

Rhodey grabbed Tony and shook him. "I did NOT know! Look who you're talking to. You know me better than that."

Tony remained silent but Rhodey, confident that Tony wouldn't take another swing at him, let him go.

"I'm not the enemy here, Tony."

"I know." He mumbled.

"I'm your friend."

"_I know_." Tony said a bit more harshly than intended. "…I can't do anything."

"Yeah you can. Figure out the problem, suit up, and take down the bad guys. It's a normal routine for us."

"Not this time."

"General Ross? Tony, that's what I came to talk to you about." Rhodey shifted about uncomfortably. "An hour ago, three kids were killed on my front yard as I was getting home. The last one to die said something about a guy named Banner, there was trouble, Ross, and that you were being used. I want to know what's happening."

* * *

Being a SHIELD agent meant a lot of things. It meant that every day you faced the impossible, it meant that you took on bigger and badder monsters than anyone else, and, unfortunately, it also meant that when there was a lack of general communication, the mistakes that you made cost more. People were killed because of those mistakes.

Coulson fought back the emerging migraine. Everything was finally coming together into a giant cluster fuck.

"Is everyone present?"

The Avengers were plus Rhodey, Jane, and Pepper were gathered in the main common room.

"What about Mrs. Talbot?" Steve asked. "Shouldn't she be here as well?" He ignored Tony snort.

"Lady Talbot is resting." Thor answered.

"There were a few anomalies with her tests." Coulson illuminated. "The doctors wanted to keep her under observation."

"_Ladies and gentlemen, as much as I hate to interrupt your meeting, I find it prudent to alert you that Mrs. Talbot kept her promise._"

Natasha frowned. "And what promise was that?"

"_She is running_."

"Fuck." Tony groaned. "JARVIS, cut her off and send her here."

"_As you wish, Sir_."

Betty did feel terrible about knocking that doctor out. He had been doing his job and didn't ask to be stuck with her but she really did have to go. Bruce was in trouble and there was no time to waste. Just as she ran down one the many numerous halls, the door began to close by themselves. She was forced to retreat into the elevator.

"_Terribly sorry Mrs. Talbot_-"

"Doctor Betty." She snarled.

"_My apologizes, Dr. Betty_." The voice did sound remorseful. "_But I have my orders to bring you to the main common room."_

Betty eyed the elevator hatch. "And if I decide to not go to the main common room?"

"_I still have my orders and I have yet to fail Mr. Stark._" He said proudly.

"What's your name?" Betty asked getting ready to bolt.

"_JARVIS_."

"Sorry JARVIS, but it looks like this is going to be your first time in failure." Betty jumped and grabbed the hatch. She ripped it off and climbed out of the elevator. They passed another floor and Betty leapt out. She narrowly avoided falling, grabbing onto the next floor's ledge. She pulled herself up. She stood precariously on the tiny ledge.

"_Dr. Betty, I am bringing the elevator back up. Please do not attempt that stunt again_."

JARVIS sounded annoyed, as though life threatening antics were part of his daily life.

"Yeah, no thanks Jay, but I'm good here." Carefully turning, Betty face the closed door. "What are you anyway? A security guard?"

"_No_." Now he sounded offended. "_I am just a rather intelligent system_."

"Shit. You're an A.I." Betty took a moment to catch her breath. "Stark create you?"

"_Yes he did. I must insist that you stop and please wait for the elevator_."

Okay, Bets, you can do this. It's for Bruce." She forced the door open and walked away. "I'm on floor 37 out of-"

"_60, Dr. Betty. There are 60 floors in the Tower. You are to report to floor 58_."

"Why exactly?" Betty sneered.

"_Sir requested it. There is a meeting regarding the wellbeing of Dr. Banner_."

That got Betty's attention. "Bruce? They know where he is?"

"_They are trying to pinpoint his location as we speak_."

"And Stark is there?"

"_It is his Tower, Dr. Betty. Sir, prefers to attend all meetings that are Avenger centric_."

"I don't trust him."

There was not enough credit given to JARVIS sometimes. His observation skills were on par with those of Sherlock Holmes and they had to be when Tony Stark was your creator.

"_I do not ask of you to trust him but to attend for Dr. Banner_." JARVIS said soothingly. "_You care for him, don't you?" _ Was it cruel to press the buttons of an emotionally troubled woman? Yes. But an Avenger was missing and JARVIS did have his orders.

* * *

"Mrs. Talbot, so glad you could make it." Coulson greeted.

Everyone could feel the hate radiate off Betty from being called Mrs. Talbot. Who knew that one woman could possess so much hate for one name.

"My name is Dr. Betty, thank you very much."

Jane waved her over and Betty sat down next to her and Thor. Betty kept glaring Tony and Tony returned the glare.

"Why am I here?" Betty asked.

"There has been a few misunderstandings and we would like to sort everything out before moving forward. What is your relationship to Dr. Banner?"

"He is my…" Oh what was the proper way to describe the man who you were in love with to a crowd of complete strangers? "Lover." Was the word she settled on.

"Oh please..." Tony laughed.

"No, it's true." Jane stood up for Betty. "I saw their messages. He wrote I love you to her."

"I'm siding with Dr. Betty on this." Pepper said.

"Pep!" Tony was aghast. "How-"

"You didn't see Bruce. He was happy."

"What's his first name?" Tony was quick to start a round of twenty questions. To anyone else it might seem as though Tony was just being himself but he was digging deeper. It was the little quirks and tiny bits of personal that he was looking for that can't be found by a background search.

"Robert but he prefers to be called Bruce."

"What's his favorite color?"

"Yellow. It soothes him."

"Boxers or briefs?"

There was a chorus of exasperated "_Tony_."

But Betty smiled. "Boxers. He likes to sleep in on Sundays and enjoy the sunrise. Bruce is an avid soccer player and played on the Culver team. He was born in Ohio but likes to move around a lot. He has been like this since I've known him. He's a fan of cheesy horror movies and he also makes the best pizza that you will ever have. Bruce has this adorable habit that when he speak and he goes into his doctor mode, he will take off his glasses and gesture with them. I don't think he knows that he does it. He's also a brilliant man with the patience of a saint and is the most selfless person that I have ever known. Mr. Stark is there anything _else_ that you would like to know about Bruce or did you bring me here to waste my time?"

Steve had turned a lovely shade of red at the load of personal information. "If we could please continue? Dr. Betty?"

"Yes?" She smiled as pleasantly as she could to the man unknown to her as Captain America.

"How did you end up getting shot?"

"Bruce and I had planned a private meeting." She said stiffly.

"What was the meeting for?" Natasha asked. She expertly twirled her knife in Betty's direction.

Betty sighed. "I was trying to convince him to run away with me. I wanted us to get away from all of this. Needless to say, I did not succeed."

"You wanted him to _leave_ the Avengers?" Thor said, shocked. "But Bruce is a valued comrade and a dear friend. Why?"

"The Avengers Initiative is run by a secretive organization. The Avengers as you like to call yourselves, have Tony Stark a self-destructive arms dealer, you a Norse God who can command lightning, two expert assassins who are feared internationally, and a World War II hero who is the ideal soldier and the army poster boy. Do you really wonder why I don't want him near you people?"

"How do you know about the Avengers Initiative?" Coulson asked.

"I hacked you guys a few months ago at a party." Betty explained. "I'm not sorry about it though."

"Do you know where Dr. Banner is?"

"Why don't you ask Stark?" Betty asked. "It was his tranquilizers that took Bruce down."

"I didn't do anything!" Tony roared. Rhodey and Pepper had to push him back down.

"I saw the dart. It had your company's logo on it." She seethed. "I tried so hard to warn Bruce about you but he wouldn't listen to me. He called you his Science Bro and swore that he trusted you all with his life!" She was in a rage. "You don't have any idea how hard it is for Bruce to have that level of trust with anyone?! And you _STABBED_ him in the back!"

"Dr. Betty," Steve intervened. "Tony and Bruce are the best of friends and that's saying something because Tony doesn't have that many friends."

"Hey!" Tony objected.

"_I believe, sir, that is what you would call a burn_."

"I didn't just hack into SHIELD." Coulson groaned at the amount of paper work he would have to do. Clint sympathetically patted him on the back. "My…husband is Glenn Talbot. He works closely with General Ross."

"And the rest of the military." Rhodey added. "Talbot has got a majority of all major projects. Everyone's got his card."

"Tony, have you worked with him?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Pep?"

"We have before in the past." She scanned through the files on her tablet. "Some minor stuff. Talbot seems to favor Hammer over us."

"The idiot." Rhodey groaned.

"Oh no," Pepper's voice broke. "There was an order from Talbot. It was placed as a high priority item from the board but we turned it down. It was suspicious."

"In what way?" Clint asked.

"Talbot refused to give any information on the project and it veered into weapons development."

"And we're shut it down. Right, Pep?"

"We're currently shutting it down. The board has been fighting us every step of the way but come this spring, we'll be out."

"I saw the order form." Betty insisted. "It had Stark's personal signature."

"JARVIS check everything that Talbot's name on it. I don't care if it's a grocery receipt! I want everything!"

"It will take some time, Sir." JARVIS remorsefully informed. "Sixteen hours to be precise."

"That's time that Bruce doesn't have." Betty fretted.

Clint summed it up best, "Well fuck."

* * *

Author's Note: Hooray for a lengthy chapter. Please if you have the time, review. I love to know what you guys are thinking about the story. Have a lovely day.


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